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.   Jim  Younger. 


Bob  Younger. 


JI^^NOTICE. — The  above  portraits  were  engraved  from  photo- 
graphs furnished  by  Cole  Younger  in  February,  1881,  after  three  edi- 
tions of  this  book  had  been  printed.  They  are  copyrighted,  and  the 
law  will  be  rigidly  enforced  against  all  infringements. 


THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

AN     AUTHENTIC    AND    THRILLING    HISTORY   OF   THE   MOST 
NOTED   BANDITS   OF  ANCIENT  OR   MODERN   TIMES, 

THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS, 

JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES, 

AND 

THEIR     COMRADES     IN     CRIME. 


COMPILED  FROM  RELIABLE  SOURCES  ONLY  AND  CONTAINING 

THE  LATEST  FACTS  IN  REGARD  TO  THESE 

CELEBRATED   OUTLAWS. 


ZB3T  0\  W.   IBTTIEIi, 
\\ 

Author  of    "Heroes  ot   the   Plains,"    "Legends  of  the   Ozarks," 

and  other  popular  works. 


Illustrated     with    Portraits    and    Colored'  Plates. 


ST.  LOUIS,  mo.  : 

HISTORICAL  PUBLISHING  CO., 

1881. 


Copyrighted,  1880,  by  DAN.  LINAHAN. 


Ryan,  Jacks  &  Co.,  Printers, 

ST.  LOUIS. 


PREFACE. 


An  authentic  history  of  the  desperate  adventures  of  the 
four  Younger  Brothers  has  become  a  necessity.  Their 
lives  require  no  romantic  or  exaggerated  shading  to  make 
the  narrative  remarkable.  Their  deeds  are  as  prominent 
in  the  archives  of  guerrilla  warfare  as  their  names  are  fa- 
miliar on  the  border.  But  with  a  comprehension  of  the  mor- 
bid appetites  of  many  readers,  newspaper  and  pamphlet 
writers  have  created  and  colored  crimes  with  reckless  ex- 
travagance, £nd  then  placed  upon  them  the  impress  of  the 
Younger  Brothers,  because  the  character  of  these  noted 
guerrilla  outlaws  made  the  desperate  acts  credited  to  them 
not  improbable.  The  difficulties  encountered  in  procuring 
facts  connected  with  the  stirring  escapades  of  the  outlaw 
quartette,  have  heretofore  been  overcome  by  imaginative 
authors  and  correspondents,  giving  in  minute  detail  inci- 
dents with  which  their  creative  genius  is  at  all  times  well 
supplied.  These  remarks  are  not  intended  to  disparage 
the  merit  of  any  contributor  to  the  annals  of  border  his- 
tory, but  rather  to  excite  a  proper  suspicion  on  the  part  of 
the  public  against  a  too  ready  belief  of  every  adventure, 
fight  or  robbery  charged  to  the  Younger  Brothers. 

The  part  they  acted  during  the  great  civil  strife  has,  un- 
doubtedly, been  truthfully  told,  but  their  career  since  the 
close  of  that  dreadful  drama  has  been,  in  a  great  measure, 
elaborated  by  imagery,  until  it  is  difficult  for  those  unac- 
quainted with  the  facts,  to  conclude  which  record  is  true 
and  which  created. 

The  writer  does  not  claim  exception  from  mistakes,  but 
5o 


6  PREFACE. 

without  arrogating  to  himself  any  special  merit,  it  can  be 
truthfully  said  that  the  following  history  of  these  great  out- 
laws contains  a  less  number  of  errors  and  a  more  reliable 
and  comprehensive  description  of  their  valorous  deeds  than 
any  previous  publication.  For  several  weeks  prior  to  the 
completion  of  this  work,  a  correspondence  was  maintained 
with  the  Younger  Brothers,  as  well  also  with  the  warden  of 
the  Minnesota  penitentiary,  and  through  this  source  many 
new  facts  were  obtained  and  numerous  errors  discovered. 
In  addition  to  this,  personal  interviews  have  been  had  with 
several  old  comrades  of  the  Youngers,  and  with  Cole 
Younger  himself;  and  nothing  has  been  left  undone  to  pro- 
cure all  the  facts  possible,  and  to  avoid  falling  into  the  old 
mistakes  which  have  been  repeated  until  they  have  become 
almost  traditionary. 

For  a  considerable  period  the  writer  was  a  resident  of 
Kansas  City,  where  he  was  engaged  in  journalism,  and 
made  the  acquaintance  of  hundreds  of  persons  who  were 
intimately  known  to  the  Younger  and  James  Brothers,  and 
from  these  also  much  valuable  and  trustworthy  information 
was  received,  which  various  corroborative  sources  have  en- 
abled the  author  to  reliably  write  the  history  of  the  noted 
utlaws  without  resorting  to  either  fiction  or  romance. 

J.  W.  B. 
St.  Louis,  December  15,  1880. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

PORTRAITS  OF  YOUNGER  BROTHERS,  Frontispiece 

Result  o^he  Attempted  Arrest,                  -  -            8 

Waiting  for  the-Flames,        -  19 

The  Federals  surprise  Quantrell  with  their  Cannon,  -          31 

Cole  Younger' s.  Cattle  Stampede,        -  33 

George  Shepherd,         -                -                -               -  36 

PRESENTATION'  OF  THE  BLACK  FLAG,  -                 39 

Burning  of  Osceola,                      -               -               -  42 

Fatal  Result  of  Cole  Younger's  Deadly  Volley,  -                 47 

Charging  the  Entrenched  Guerrillas,          -               •  49 

The  Federal  Ambush,           -  56 

A  NARROW  ESCAPE,               -               ...  58 

The  Hand-to-Hand  Combat,     -               -                -  72 

Desperate  Fight  at  the  Trenches,                      -  80 

The  Retreat  from  Lawrence,  -          104 

RUSSELLVILLE  BANK  ROBBERY,       -  -                  131 

KANSAS  CITY  FAIR  ROBBERY,     -               -  156 

HOT  SPRINGS  STAGE   ROBBERY,  166 

KILLING  OF  JOHN  YOUNGER,     -               -  174 

THE  LAST  LOOK,        -  191 

The  Three  Dead  Bandits,          -  2IO 

Firing  into  the  Woods,       -                -                -  •                   217 

CAPTURE  OF  THE  YOUNGERS,    -               -  219 

7  o. 


RESULT  OF  THE  ATTEMPTED  ARREST. — See  p.  53. 


BORDER  OUTLAWS. 


PAGE. 

THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS— 

Nativity,  and  Causes  which  led  to  Guerrilla  Life,     -  II 

Le  Marias  du  Cygne,        ------         14 

Cole  Younger's  First  Fight  under  Quantrell,             -            -  1; 

Desperate  Fight  at  Tate's  House,             -            -            -  21 

The  Slaughter  at  Blue  Cut,                 -            -            -            -  2( 

The  Most  Remarkable  Fight  during  the  War,     -            -  29 
History  of  the  Black  Flag,                 -                                       "35 

The  Pillage  of  Osceola,                -  41 

The  Second  Fight  at  the  Blue  Cut,               ...  4^ 

Battle  of  Walnut  Creek,               -             -            -             -  -         45 

Ambuscades  and  Hard  Fighting,      -  52 
The  Fight  at  Independence,         -----         58 

Battle  of  Lone  Jack,             -----  66 

Assassination  of  Col.  Henry  W.  Younger,           -  74 

Skirmishes,  Ambuscades  and  Executions,                -  75 

Separation  and  Combats  in  Different  Fields,         •  86 
Cole  Younger's  Escape  through  the  Strategy  of  a  Negro  Woman,      89 

Christmas  Frolic  in  Kansas  City,      -            -            -            -  92 

Mrs.  Younger  forced  to  Fire  her  own  House,      -            -  96 

A  Bitter  Winter  and  Persistent  Skirmishing,             -  98 

Progress  of  Crimes  which  the  War  Inaugurated,              -  -       107 

The  Terrible  "Black  Oath,"            -            -            -            -  io8 

The  First  Bank  Robbery — At  Liberty,  Mo.,       -            -  -       in 

John  Younger's  First  Fight,               -            -            -            -  115 

Desperate  Attempt  at  Jail  Delivery,         -            -            -  117 

The  Lexington  Bank  Robbery,         -            -            -            -  118 

The  Bank  Robbery  at  Savannah,  Mo.,    -             -             -  1 19 

Robbery  and  Bitter  Fight  at  Richmond,  Mo.,           -            -  121 

The  Russellville  Bank  Robbery,               ...  -       126 

Tragic  Results  of  a  Horse  Race,      -            -            -            -  134 

90 


IO  CONTENTS. 

Robbing  the  Gallatin,  Mo.,  Bank,           -  137 

The  Hanging  of  John  Younger,        -            -  -            -              143 

Murder  of  Sheriff  Nichols,           -            -  -            -            -       146 

The  Corydon,  Iowa,  Bank  Robbery,            -  -            -               150 

The  Columbia,  Ky.,  Bank  Robbery,       -  -            -                    152 

Daring  Raid  at  the  Kansas  City  Fair,           -  -            -              154 

The  Ste.  Genevieve,  Mo.,  Bank  Robbery,  -            -            -       158 

Robbing  a  Train  in  Iowa,     -            -            -  -               161 

The  Hot  Springs  Stage  Robbery,            -  -            -            -       165 

Robbing  a  Train  at  Gad's  Hill,        -  108 

Death  of  two  Detectives,               -            -  -            -            -171 

Robbing  a  Texas  Stage,         -            -            -  -            -              1 7b 

Cole  Younger's  Epistolary  Vindication,  ...       17$ 

The  Train  Robbery  at  Muncie,  Kansas,      -  182 

Huntington,  Va.,  Bank  Robbery,            -  -            -                    186 

The  Missouri  Pacific  Railroad  Robbery,       -  194 
The  Northfield  Bank  Robbery   and   Tragedy. — Capture   of   the 

Younger  Brothers,     -  202 

A  Proposition  to  Murder  Jim  Younger,         -  225 

Interesting  Correspondence  from  Cole  Younger,  -      227 

Personal  Interview  with  Cole  Younger,         -  234 

How  a  Duel  to  the  Death  was  Prevented,  -                                243 

Attempts  to  Liberate  the  Younger  Brothers,  -            -              249 


THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 


The  Younger  Brothers 


NATIVITY,  AND  CAUSES  WHICH  LED   TO 
GUERRILLA  LIFE. 

Henry  W.  Younger,  father  of  the  outlaws,  was 
one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  Missouri,  having  remov- 
ed to  the  State  in  1825  and  settled  in  Jackson  county. 
Five  years  later,  having  arrived  at  manhood's  estate 
he  was  married  to  a  Miss  Fristo,  a  very  estimable 
young  lady  of  Jackson  county,  and  the  relation  thus 
formed  was  a  congenial  and  happy  one.  Mr.  Young- 
er, possessing  a  fair  education,  became  a  prominent 
citizen  in  the  neighborhood  and  for  the  period  of 
eight  years  he  held  the  position  of  County  Judge, 
and  subsequently  was  twice  elected  to  the  State  Leg- 
islature. The  family  became  a  very  large  one,  con- 
sisting of  fourteen  children,  eight  of  whom  are  still 
living,  four  boys  and  four  girls. 

In  1858  Mr.  Younger  purchased  a  large  tract  of 
land  in  Cass  county,  near  Harrisonville,  to  which  he 
removed  the  same  year  and  began  raising  stock,  in 
which  he  was  eminently  successful  and  soon  became 
a  wealthy  man.  He  made  many  excellent  invest- 
ments which  finally  caused  his  removal  to  Harrison- 


12  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

ville,  where  he  started  a  livery  stable  and  became  in- 
terested in  two  large  country  stores. 

Thomas  Coleman,  familiarly  called  Cole,  was  the 
second  eldest  son,  having  been  born  in  Jackson  coun- 
ty January   15th,   1844. 

Richard  was  the  senior  of  Cole  by  two  years,  but 
he  died  of  a  malarial  fever  in  i860  before  the  exci- 
ting events  which  culminated  in  a  career  which  has 
made  the  family  name  so  prominent. 

John  was  born  at  the  old  homestead  in  Jackson 
county  in  1846,  Bruce  in  1848,  James  in  1850,  and  Ro- 
bert in  December,  1853.  ^ ls  not  important  to  give  the 
births  of  any  other  members  of  the  family,  as  their 
names  will  not  figure  in  the  incidents  herein  recited. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  western  Missouri  has  pro- 
duced so  many  remorseless  characters,  considering 
the  peculiar  conditions  of  her  early  history.  Every 
student  of  common  school  history  is  familiar  with  the 
border  warfare  which  existed  between  Missouri  and 
Kansas  over  the  slavery  question.  Old  John  Brown, 
whose  career  terminated  at  Harper's  Ferry  in  i860, 
was  an  important  factor  in  that  inter-state  contest 
which  was  waged  with  almost  unexampled  fury  for 
many  years,  to  the  destruction  of  a  vast  amount  of 
property  and  the  loss  of  hundreds  of  lives.  The  bor- 
der counties  of  Missouri  and  Kansas  suffered  terribly 
from  the  incursions  of  "Jayhawkers"  and  "Border 
Ruffians,"  afterward  guerrillas,  as  the  opposing  fac- 
tions were  called ;  and  perforce  Col.  Henry  Younger 
was  involved  in  the  bitter  antagonism,  as  was  every 
property  owner  in  that  section. 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  13 

One  of  the  incidents  of  the  bloody  border  warfare 
has  been  immortalized  by  the  Quaker  poet,  John  G. 
Whittier,  and  its  reproduction  here  will  serve  as  a 
more  forcible  illustration  of  the  desperate  cruelties 
inflicted  in  that  contest  which  lighted  the  camp-fires 
of  Abolitionism  and  prepared  the  way  of  freedom  for 
Southern  slaves. 

The  history  of  this  local  event  so  elegantly  and 
pathetically  apotheosized  by  Whittier  is  in  brief  as 
follows..  In  the  year  1856  Hamilton,  whose  reputa- 
tion for  fiendish  brutality  had  preceded  him,  drew 
his  serpent  trail  across  the  border  and  appeared  in 
Miami  and  Linn  counties,  Kas.,  at  the  head  of  about 
fifty  conscienceless  followers.  He  pillaged  and  burned 
farm  houses,  laid  waste  teeming  harvests  and  murder- 
ed men,  women  and  children  of  anti-slavery  opinions. 
The  crowning  act  of  his  career  was  the  arrest  of 
twenty  of  the  best  citizens  of  Linn  Co.,  all  residents 
of  a  single  neighborhood,  whom  he  bound  a*nd  car- 
ried to  a  lonely  spot  on  the  Marais  du  Cygne  river, 
near  Trading  Post,  and  securing  them  to  stakes,  fiend- 
ishly shot  them  one  by  one.  Three  of  the  number, 
though  wounded  in  a  manner  which  gave  evidence 
of  their  death,  survived  to  tell  the  terrible  story  of 
that  holocaust  and  become  heroes  of  Whittier's  verse. 
Two  of  the  survivors  are  still  living,  or  were  during 
the  writer's  residence  in  Kansas  in  1872.  One  of 
these,  Rev.  Reed,  is  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at 
Ossavvatomie,  Miami  county,  and  the  other,  Asa 
Hargrove,  is  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Linn  county. 


14  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

Such,  in  brief,  are  the  particulars  of  that  dreadful 
sacrifice  so  passionately  wreathed  with  pathetic  gar- 
lands by  one  of  America's  greatest  poets,  and  many 
a  tear  has  fallen  from  the  eyes  of  sympathetic  read- 
ers upon  the  pages  which  relate  the  story.  Follow- 
ing is  the  poem : 

LE  MARAIS  DU  CYGNE. 

A  blush  as  of  roses 

Where  rose  never  grew, 
Great  drops  on  the  bunch-grass, 

But  not  of  the  dew ! 
A  taint  in  the  sweet  air 

For  wild  bees  to  shun ! 
A  stain  that  shall  never 

Bleach  out  in  the  sun  ! 

Back,  steed  of  the  prairies ! 

Sweet  song-bird,  fly  back ! 
tf      Wheel  hither,  bald  vulture ! 

Gray  wolf,  call  thy  pack  ! 
The  foul  human  vultures 

Have  feasted  and  fled ; 
The  wolves  of  the  Border 

Have  crept  from  the  dead. 

From  the  hearths  of  their  cabins, 

The  fields  of  their  corn, 
Unwarned  affd  unweaponed, 

The  victims  were  torn, — 
By  the  whirlwind  of  murder 

Swooped  up  and  swept  on, 
To  the  low,  reedy  fen-lands, 

The  Marsh  of  the  Swan. 


TXE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  15 

With  a  vain  plea  for  mercy 

No  stout  knee  was  crooked  ; 
In  the  mouths  of  the  rifles 

Right  manly  they  looked. 
How  paled  the  May  sunshine, 

O  Marais  du  Cygne  ! 
On  death  for  the  strong  life, 

On  red  grass  for  green  ! 

In  the  homes  of  their  rearing, 

Yet  warm  with  their  lives, 
Ye  wait  the  dead  only, 

Poor  children  and  wives  . 
Put  out  the  red  forge-fire, 

The  smith  shall  not  come ; 
Unyoke  the  brown  oxen, 

The  ploughman  lies  dumb. 

Wind  slow  from  the  Swan's  Marsh, 

O  dreary  death-train, 
With  pressed  lips  as  bloodless 

As  lips  of  the  slain  ! 
Kiss  down  the  young  eyelids, 

Smooth  down  the  gray  hairs ; 
Let  tears  quench  the  curses 

That  burn  through  your  prayers. 

Strong  man  of  the  prairies, 

Mourn  bitter  and  wild  ! 
Wail,  desolate  woman  ! 

Weep,  fatherless  child  ! 
But  the  grain  of  God  springs  up 

From  ashes  beneath, 


16  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

And  the  crown  of  his  harvest 
Is  life  out  of  death. 

Not  in  vain  on  the  dial 

The  shade  moves  along, 
To  point  the  great  contrasts 

Of  right  and  of  wrong  ; 
Free  homes  and  free  altars, 

Free  prairie  and  flood, — 
The  reeds  of  the  Swan's  Marsh, 

Whose  bloom  is  of  blood ! 

On  the  lintels  of  Kansas 

That  blood  shall  not  dry ; 
Henceforth  the  Bad  Angel 

Shall  harmless  go  by  ; 
Henceforth  to  the  sunset, 

Unchecked  on  her  way, 
Shall  Liberty  follow 

The  march  of  the  day. 

At  the  beginning  of  hostilities  in  1861  the  border 
warfare  increased  in  virulency  and  the  sympathizers 
on  both  sides  were  forced  into  extreme  measures. 
Col.  Younger,  though  it  is  claimed  he  was  a  Union 
man,  suffered  terribly  from  the  Kansas  militia,  who 
were  operating  under  the  Federal  banner.  Jennison, 
who  was  at  the  head  of  the  jayhawkers,  made  a  raid 
through  the  counties  of  Jackson  and  Cass,  leaving  be- 
hind him  a  trail  of  burning  farms  and  plundered  vil- 
lages, staying  his  hand  of  desolation  in  the  town  of 
Harrisonville,  a  large  portion  of  which  he  destroyed  ; 
among  the  property  he  confiscated  was  all  the  livery 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS. 


17 


stock  of  Col.  Younger,  consisting  of  thirty  head  of 
horses  and  several  buggies  and  wagons.  This  act 
was  bitterly  condemned,  but  there  was  no  other  means 
of  compromising  the  wrong  than  by  avenging  it  upon 
the  people  of  Kansas. 

From  this  time  the  members  of  the  Younger  fam- 
ily renounced  their  Union  sentiments  and  enlisted 
their  sympathy  with  the  Confederate  cause.  A  few 
weeks  afterward  Cole  Younger  sought  and  found 
Quantrell,  whose  force  he  joined  and  pledged  himself 
to  the  fortunes  of  that  dreadful  black  banner  which 
two  years  afterward  streamed  through  the  bloody 
streets  of  Lawrence. 


COLE    YOUNGER'S   FIRST    FIGHT    UNDER 
QUANTRELL. 

Three  is  no  reason  to  doubt  Cole  Younger's  as- 
sertion that  he  joined  Quantrell  because  of  outrages 
perpetrated  by  jayhawking  Federals  upon  his  father, 
and  it  must  be  admitted  that  he  did  not  renounce 
his  manhood  by  so  doing.  It  was  terrible  to  see 
the  property  of  the  household  confiscated,  and 
other  indignities  suffered  at  the  hands  of  those 
whose  banner  should  have  made  them  friends.  Cole 
Younger  was  a  young  man  of  excellent  character, 
refined  by  education  and  a  training  which  made  him 
devoted  to  his  parents.     Little  wonder,  then,  that  his 

nature  became  transformed  by  such  cruelties  upon 
2 


1$  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

those  he  loved  so  well,  and  when  he  allied  his  for- 
tunes with  the  most  desperate  man  on  the  border,  it 
was  the  preliminary  step  in  a  determination  to  have 
revenge. 

When  Cole  Younger  volunteered  his  services 
Quantrell's  force  had  but  recently  been  collected  and 
consisted  of  thirty-seven  men,  all  of  whom  were  resi- 
dents of  Jackson,  Clay  and  Cass  counties.  For  sev- 
eral weeks  this  small  company  confined  its  adven- 
tures to  the  border  counties  of  Kansas,  taking  horses 
and  capturing  ammunition  trains.  Capt.  Peabody, 
with  a  full  company  of  Federals,  was  sent  out  by 
Gen.  Jim  Lane,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Kansas 
militia,  with  instructions  to  capture  or  kill  Quantrell 
and  his  band.  The  trail  was  readily  found  and  the 
guerrillas  were  followed  to  the  house  of  John  Flan- 
nery,  in  Jackson  county,  where  a  stand  was  male 
January  3d,  1862,  and  a  bitter  fight  ensued.  The 
Federals  surrounded  the  house  and  then  sent  a  de- 
mand to  Quantrell  for  his  surrender.  The  cunning 
guerrilla  asked  for  a  ten-minute  parley  with  his  men, 
which  time  being  granted,  he  used  it  most  advantag- 
eously in  disposing  his  men  so  as  to  make  them  most 
effective.  At  the  expiration  of  the  time  allowed, Quan- 
trell shouted  defiance  at  his  foes,  at  the  same  mom- 
ent discharging  his  double-barreled  shot-gun,  which 
was  loaded  with  buck-shot,  killing  Peabody's  lieuten- 
ant. The  fight  then  began  in  earnest  and  for  more 
than  an  hour  it  raged  with  increasing  fury.  Finding 
it  impossible  to  dislodge  the  enemy  by  pouring  shot 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS. 


19 


into  the  building,  Capt.  Peabody  ordered  the  torch 
applied  to  the  house,  an  act  easily  accomplished  in 
the  rear  of  the  ell  of  the  building,  as  there  were  no 
windows  from  which  an  approach  from  that  direction 


WAITING    FOR  THE   FLAMES. 


could  be  commanded.  A  large  quantity  of  straw 
was  carried  fiom  an  adjacent  stack  which,  being 
fired,  soon  «MxVe?or,«<3  th»  frame  ell,  but  ere  the  flames 


20  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

reached  the  main  building  they  were  quenched  by 
the  guerrillas.  A  second  attempt  resulted  as  the  first, 
but  the  water  in  the  house  now  being  exhausted,  the 
thfrd  time  fire  was  set  to  the  building  it  roared  and 
crackled  like  a  fiend  of  destruction  to  be  baffled  no 
more.  Smoke  rolled  through  the  windows  and  the 
hot  flames  came  leaping  into  the  rooms,  driving  the 
guerrillas  from  corner  to  corner  and  rapidly  narrow- 
ing the  space  they  stood  on  until,  at  last,  they  were 
forced  to  face  their  foe  and  stem  the  torrent  of  death 
without  protection.  By  orders  of  Quantrell,  dum- 
mies were  hastily  made  of  pillows  and  bed  clothing 
and  set  in  the  windows  to  draw  the  fire  of  the  Fed- 
erals, and  then  bidding  his  men  follow,  the  desperate 
guerrilla  dashed  through  the  door  and  broke  for  the 
brush,  every  man  emptying  his  gun  at  the  enemy  as 
he  ran.  Cole  Younger  displayed  the  most  remark- 
able bravery  throughout  the  fight,  and  at  the  retreat 
his  recklessness  caused  him  to  separate  from  his 
command,  and  but  for  the  operation  of  what  seemed 
almost  a  miracle,  he  must  have  been  killed.  Being 
unacquainted  with  the  place,  Cole  ran  in  a  different 
direction  from  the  others  of  his  command  and  sud- 
denly found  his  course  impeded  by  a  strong  picket 
fence  which  he  could  not  scale,  while  the  Federals 
dashed  after  and  fired  at  him  more  than  a  hundred 
times.  After  running  fully  two  hundred  yards,  with 
a  large  force  in  pursuit,  he  came  to  a  defective  place 
in  the  fence,  and  pushed  through  and  started  across 
a  field.     But,  though  he  had  distanced  vV    ;nfantryf 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  21 

there  were  twelve  cavalrymen  who  saw  him,  and  to 
tear  down  the  fence  was  the  work  of  a  moment  and 
then  the  pursuit  was  renewed.  Cole  still  carried  his 
gun  but  it  was  empty,  he  having  had  no  opportunity 
to  reload,  but  from  time  to  time  he  would  raise  the 
gun  as  if  intending  to  fire  at  his  pursuers,  and  this 
act  would  serve  to  partially  check  their  rapid  ride  af- 
ter him.  By  recourse  to  such  strategies  Cole  gained 
the  woods  and  escaped,  most  singular  to  relate,  with- 
out having  received  the  slightest  wound. 

In  this  fight  the  guerrillas  lost  ten  men,  but  two  of 
these  refused  to  leave  the  burning  building  and 
therefore  perished  in  the  flames.  The  loss  of  the 
Federals  was  eighteen  killed  and  nearly  as  many 
more  wounded.  None  of  the  guerrillas  were  cap- 
tured but  all  their  horses  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
victors. 


THE  DESPERATE  FIGHT  AT  TATE'S 
HOUSE. 

The  Flannery  fight  was  repeated  with  remarkable 
similarity  one  month  after  that  occurrence.  The 
particulars  of  this  combat,  as  related  by  Geo.  Shep- 
herd, a  participant,  to  the  writer,  are  as  follows  :  At 
this  time  Quantrell's  force  consisted  of  exactly  fifty 
men  and  was  on  the  march  towards  Sny-Bar,  where 
it  was  learned  a  small  detachment  of  Federals  were 
operating.     It  was  Quantrell's  custom,  while  on  the 


22  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

march,  to  stop  at  farm-houses  on  the  way,  distribut- 
ing his  men  so  that  their  accommodations  might  be 
provided  for.  While  enroute  for  Sny-Bar,  night 
coming  on,  Quantrell,  with  twenty-one  of  his  men, 
stopped  at  the  large  farm-house  of  Major  Tate,  near 
Little  Santa  Fe,  in  Jackson  county.  The  rest  of  the 
company,  under  Todd,  found  lodgings  five  miles 
further  north. 

Hard  riding  had  made  Quantrell's  men  weary,  and 
a  fast  since  morning  had  whetted  their  appetites  into 
unusual  cravings.  Major  Tate  was  a  friend  of  the 
cause,  and  a  bounteous  table,  set  with  all  the  good 
things  provided  by  a  successful  farmer,  was  the  wel- 
come he  extended  to  his  guests.  Without  there  was 
snow  and  whistling,  frosty  winds,  while  within  was 
the  crackling  log-fire  with  its  reflection  of  dancing 
images  and  warming  cheer  ;  hunger-producing  odors 
of  fresh  meats  smothered  in  rich  gravies ;  smoking 
sweet  potatoes,  and  the  luscious  condiments  which  a 
thrifty  housewife  had  provided  for  special'occasions ; 
in  addition  to  these  seductive  refreshments  to  the 
hungry  there  was  the  brown  cruet  of  freshly  drawn 
cider  with  its  crest  of  breaking  bubbles,  and  a  pyra- 
mid of  apples  red  as  the  cardinal's  robe.  It  was 
supper  time,  and  such  a  lordly  feast  the  guerrillas 
had  not  partaken  of  for  many  months. 

After  supper  was  over,  every  man,  with  distended 
stomach,  uncomfortable  from  excessive  fullness, 
gradually  became  languid  until  sleep  stole  upon  them 
in  spite  of  the  good  jokes  which  were  passing  around 
and  being  told  with  special  zest  by  the  jolly  Major. 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  23 

The  guerrillas  were  asleep,  all  save  one  who  stood 
sentinel  at  the  gate,  his  big  coat  muffling  his  face 
from  the  biting  gusts  of  winter's  winds.  Slowly  he 
paced  a  little  beat,  his  dreamy  eyes  closing,  at  times, 
with  fading  resolution,  but  only  to  open  wider  when 
full  consciousness  was  restored.  Nine,  ten,  eleven 
o'clock,  and  not  a  sound  to  disturb  the  deep  slumbers 
of  the*  guerrillas.  The  hour  of  midnight  was  ap- 
proaching, that  mysterious  time  when  the  dead  are 
permitted  to  catch  glimpses  of  the  earth  they  once 
trod  in  the  flesh ;  that  period  of  brief  space  when 
graves  open  to  disgorge  their  surfeit  of  dead  men, 
and  on  which  the  shadows  fall  which  margin  the 
confines  of  death  and  life.  Were  these  gloomy  re- 
flections occupying  the  dreamy  mind  of  that  lone- 
some guard ;  he  who  was  called  to  slay  and  spare 
not;  to  hunt,  to  find,  to  kill? 

"  Who  are  you?"  The  clock  was  striking  the  mys- 
terious hour,  and  the  food  for  graves  was  being  pre- 
pared, but  the  graves  had  not  yet  been  dug.  It  was 
the  voice  of  the  guard  who,  startled  by  the  tramp  of 
horses'  feet  in  the  crisp  snow,  gave  the  guerrilla 
challenge,  and  as  the  road  filled  up  with  Federal  cav- 
alry there  was  a  single  shot,  and  a  rush  by  the  guard 
into  the  house.  A  volley  from  carbines  saluted  his 
entrance,  but  the  door  was  speedily  barred  against  in- 
truders. Cole  Younger,  Geo.  Shepherd  and  Quan- 
trell  heard  that  first  shot  and  intuition  told  them  its 
full  meaning:  the  enemy  was  without,  two  hundred 
strong,  and  a  fight  was  unavoidable.     Some  one  was 


24  THE  BORDER   OUTLAWS. 

always  on  Quantrell's  trail  and  the  force  which  had 
now  surrounded  him  had  followed  his  track  like  a 
sleuth  hound,  and  only  waited  for  the  deepest  shades 
of  night  to  fall  upon  and  devour  the  little  guerrilla 
band.  The  Federals  understood  the  cunning  and 
bravery  of  the  twenty-two  men  in  the  building,  and 
before  making  their  presence  known  they  had  taken 
every  precaution  to  prevent  escape,  by  completely 
surrounding  the  house  and  guarding  every  door  and 
window.  The  night  was  beautiful,  with  the  sky  as 
clear  as  the  ether  of  heaven,  from  which  a  full,  bright 
moon  poured  a  flood  of  silver,  pencilling  the  white 
earth  and  throwing  dark,  fantastic  figures  behind  the 
woods  and  fences. 

A  brave  lieutenant  was  the  spokesman  of  the  Fed- 
erals, and  with  clanking  spurs  and  saber  he  approach  • 
ed  the  door,  gave  it  a  few  smart  kicks  with  his  heavy 
cavalry  boots,  and  then  demanded  an  immediate  sur- 
render. It  was  a  moment  when  there  was  no  need 
for  orders ;  every  guerrilla  understood  his  duty,  for 
sleep  is  easily  dissipated  in  moments  of  extreme  dan- 
ger. Quantrell  strode  cautiously  to  the  door,  and, 
locating  the  lieutenant  by  his  voice,  fired  a  large 
navy  pistol.  The  bullet  cleft  through  the  panel  and 
struck  the  officer  in  the  chest.  With  a  gurgling 
moan  the  lieutenant  fell,  and  with  a  few  convulsive 
struggles  died.  The  battle  then  began,  with  the  Fed- 
erals pouring  volley  after  volley  into  the  building, 
which,  though  it  was  weather-boarded  on  the  outside 
and  had  a  filling  of  brick  between  the  studding,  yet 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  25 

it  afforded  but  slight  protection  against  the  minie 
balls  that  were  poured  into  it.  The  guerrillas  were 
divided,  with  Quantrell,  Cole  Younger  and  six  others 
in  the  second  story,  while  the  first  floor  was  occupied 
by  Geo.  Shepherd,  Quantrell's  lieutenant,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  the  force. 

After  the  fight  had  progressed  for  a  short  time  four 
of  the  guerrillas  became  so  frightened  that  they 
wanted  to  surrender,  and  it  also  became  important 
to  extend  some  special  protection  to  Major  Tate  and 
his  family.  Accordingly,  Quantrell  hailed  the  Feder- 
als and  told  them  some  of  his  men  desired  to  sur- 
render, and  that  the  family  of  the  house  wanted  pro- 
tection. Permission  for  them  to  retire  was  therefore 
given  and  the  four  guerrillas,  followed  by  Maj.  Tate, 
much  against  his  will,  and  his  family,  left  the  house, 
taking  up  quarters  in  the  barn  which  stood  some 
distance  off.  The  fight  was  then  renewed.  Cole 
Younger,  with  the  same  reckless  bravery  which  dis- 
tinguished him  at  the  Flannery  fight,  took  desperate 
chances  and  did  terrible  execution.  The  snow  be- 
came crimson  in  many  places  and  the  cries  of  the 
wounded  fretted  the  air.  Time  and  again  came  the 
summons  to  surrender,  but  the  only  reply  was  a  scorn- 
ful laugh.  It  was  thus  the  combat  continued  for 
three  long,  terrible  hours.  No  one  had  yet  thought 
of  the  torch,  though  there  was  the  same  fatal  ell 
with  no  window  to  guard  it,  as  at  Flannery's.  It 
came,  though,  at  last,  and  when  the  flames  threw 
their  lurid  glare  in  through  the  crevices  of  the  barri- 


26  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

caded  windows  the  guerrillas  realized  how  near  grim 
fate  was  approaching.  Time  was  asked  for,  but  the 
Federals  refused  to  check  their  fire  until  terms  of  un- 
conditional surrender  were  agreed  to.  Quantrell,  in 
last  extremities,  always  proposing  some  desperate 
scheme,  ordered  all  his  men  to  stop  firing  and  reload. 
When  every  pistol  and  gun  was  heavily  charged,  the 
guerrillas  massed  themselves,  threw  open  the  two 
doors  and  leaped  upon  their  foes,  pouring  an  un- 
ceasing volley  into  the  Federals,  cutting  a  bloody  gap 
through  which  they  passed  to  safety. 

Singular  to  relate,  though  none  the  less  true,  the 
guerrillas,  besides  losing  their  horses,  had  only  one 
man  killed,  and  none  wounded.  The  Federal  loss 
was  a  score  killed  and  nearly  twice  that  number 
wounded.  A  junction  was  formed  the  next  day  with 
Todd,  and  in  a  skirmish  with  thirteen  Federals  which 
occurred  in  the  afternoon  following  the  Tate  house 
fight,  horses  sufficient  were  captured  to  remount 
Quantrell  and  his  men. 


THE  SLAUGHTER  AT  BLUE  CUT. 

From  the  time  of  the  fight  at  Major  .Tate's  house 
the  guerrillas  changed  their  methods  of  retaliation, 
and  a  fighting  campaign  was  inaugurated  which 
ceased  only  with  the  close  of  the  rebellion.  The 
militia  of  Missouri  co-operated  with  the  Federal 
forces  of  Kansas,  and  every  highway   in  the  border 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  27 

counties  became  a  battle  ground.  Quantrell's  force 
was  augmented  by  recruits  from  neighboring  coun- 
ties, accessions  being  made  at  every  camping  place. 
Their  arms  consisted  of  such  weapons  as  the  new 
recruits  brought  with  them  or  captured  from 
routed  foes.  Horses  were  readily  obtained  by  for- 
age upon  stables  and  pastures,  while  ammunition 
reached  them  through  the  secret  avenues  of  sympa- 
thizing friends. 

After  his  escape  from  Capt.  Peabody's  cavalry, 
Cole  Younger  went  to  the  house  of  Jerry  Blythe,  a 
relative,  located  on  the  Independence  and  Harrison- 
ville  road,  and  staid  there  two  days  before  he  could 
learn  the  whereabouts  of  Quantrell,  whom  he  was 
anxious  to  rejoin.  The  Federals  stationed  at  Inde- 
pendence learned  of  Cole's  appearance  at  Blythe's, 
and  a  force  of  seventy-five  mounted  troops  at  once 
started  out  to  effect  his  capture.  News  of  the  Fed- 
erals' intention  reached  Cole  and  Quantrell,  and  a 
plan  was  immediately  arranged  to  intercept  and  give 
them  battle,  while  a  courier  was  dispatched  to  ac- 
quaint Mr.  Blythe  with  the  purpose  of  both  Federals 
and  guerrillas. 

By  direction  of  Cole  Younger  Quantrell's  force, 
now  numbering  fifty  men,  was  stationed  at  a  place 
called  the  Blue  Cut,  on  the  Harrisonville  road,  fifteen 
miles  from  Independence,  through  which  the  Fed- 
erals would  have  to  pass  on  their  march,  or  make  a 
circuit  of  five  miles  by  a  bad  road,  to  reach  Mr. 
Blythe's  house.     The  cut  is  about  twenty-five  feet  in 


28  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS,. 

depth  and  of  a  width  that  will  admit  of  the  passage 
of  not  more  than  two  wagons,  while  both  sides  of 
the  summit  are  lined  with  a  heavy  forest  in  which  it 
was  an  easy  matter  for  Quantrell  to  secrete  his 
horses  and  men. 

For  some  reason,  doubtless  to  prevent  the  knowl- 
edge of  their  appearance  in  the  neighboihood,  the 
Federals  chose  the  circuitous  route  and  reached  the 
Blythe  mansion  unperceivedby  the  guerrillas.  They 
found  no  one  at  home  except  Mrs.  Blythe  and  a 
young  son  not  more  than  thirteen  years  of  age,  who 
was  in  the  yard  when  the  Federals  rode  up.  They 
captured  the  young  lad  and  tried  to  force  him  to  dis- 
close the  hiding  place  of  Cole  Younger,  but  he  posi- 
tively refused  to  tell  anything;  and  when  they  gave 
him  a  chance  he  ran  into  the  house,  seized  a  pistol, 
and  while  the  troops  were  sacking  the  place  he  fired 
on  them,  killing  one  and  severely  wounding  another. 
This  unexpected  attack  from  so  youthful  a  source  so 
enraged  the  Federals  that,  as  the  boy  ran  out  at  the 
back  door,  he  was  riddled  with  bullets,  no  less  than 
sixteen  striking  him,  extinguishing  his  young  life  im- 
mediately. After  the  commission  of  this  deed  and 
being  satisfied  that  Cole  Younger  was  not  in  any  of 
the  outbuildings,  the  Federals  started  back  on  the 
main  highway,  when  they  were  soon  seen  by  the 
guerrillas  and  preparations  were  at  once  made  by  the 
latter  for  the  attack.  Both  ends  of  the  cut,  as  well 
as  the  eminence  on  each  side,  were  well  protected  by 
the  guerrillas,  whose  fire  was  reserved  until  the  un  • 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  29 

suspecting  Federals  had  ridden  well  into  the  gap. 
With  a  wild  yell  from  Quantrell  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion was  begun,  and  the  murderous  streams  of  flame 
made  the  cut  a  hideous  valley  of  death.  From  ev- 
ery side  the  deadly  pellets  poured  upon  the  demor- 
alized Federals,  not  one  of  whom  thought  of  any- 
thing but  escape,  while  horses  and  riders  mingled 
tsheir  blood  together  until  that  terrible  gap  became 
red  with  the  slaughter.  Few  lived  through  that  de- 
structive fire,  for  when  the  whirlwind  of  death  swept 
over  the*  band,  nearly  sixty  corses  lay  still  under  the 
smoke  which  choked  the  cut.  Cole  Younger's  aveng- 
ing hand  had  been  laid  heavily  upon  ten  men,  and  he 
was  satisfied  with  the  work  of  that  day. 


THE  MOST  REMARKABLE  FIGHT  DURING 
THE  WAR. 

In  the  latter  part  of  February,  1862,  three  weeks 
after  the  slaughter  at  Blue  Cut,  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable battles  of  the  war  was  fought,  between 
Quantrell's  force  of  fifty  men  on  one  side  and  five 
hundred  Federals  under  Cols.  Buel  and  Jennison  on 
the  other,  resulting  in  the  defeat  and  rout  of  the  lat- 
ter with  a  loss  almost  twice  as  great  as  the  entire 
guerrilla  force. 

Independence  had  become  a  supply  post  and  dis- 
tributing center  for  the  Federals  in  the  west,  and  was 
garrisoned  by  a  force  of  one  thousand  militia.     Spies 


30  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

were  continually  on  the  track  of  the  guerrillas,  but 
owing  to  the  disbandments  and  reorganizations 
which  occurred  every  few  days  to  avoid  pursuit,  it 
was  impossible  for  the  Federals  to  determine  the 
force  of  the  enemy  in  any  engagement,  which  gave 
to  Quantrell  a  most  important  advantage. 

In  the  latter  part  of  February,  the  weather  being 
very  cold,  Quantrell  went  into  camp  on  Indian  Creek, 
in  Jackson  county,  about  ten  miles  from  Indepen- 
dence, for  the  purpose  of  recruiting  his  force  and 
watching  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  His  posi- 
tion was  soon  reported  and  Col.Buel,  at  the  head  of 
two  hundred  men,  at  once  drew  out  from  Indepen- 
dence for  the  purpose  of  engaging  the  guerrillas, 
whose  numbers  were  found  to  be  small.  By  some 
means,  never  fully  explained,  Quantrell  suffered  him- 
self to  be  surrounded,  though  his  defensive  precau- 
tions were  excellent;  a  large  number  of  trees  having 
been  felled  and  breastworks  made  which  no  cavalry 
could  penetrate. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th,  Quantrell  was  sur- 
prised by  the  shrill  whistle  of  a  shell  as  it  came  cut- 
ting through  the  trees  and  exploded  overhead.  His 
pickets  were  driven  in  and  then  he  found  that  every 
avenue  of  escape  had  been  closed,  besides  which  the 
Federals  had  two  pieces  of  artillery  with  which  to 
shell  the  woods.  The  situation  was  critical  in  the 
extreme  and  Quantrell  had  grave  apprehensions 
which  he  communicated  to  his  comrades.  At  the 
suggestion  of  Haller,  a  brave  fellow  who  saw  the 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS: 


3i 


anxiety  manifested  by  Quantrcli,  Cole  Younger  was 
called  into  council  because  of  his  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  country  and  the  cunning  and  daring 
which  had  already  distinguished  him.  His  advice, 
undoubtedly,  saved  the  command  and  turned  what 


THE   FEDERALS    SURPRISE  QUANTRELL  WITH   THEIR    CANNON. 


at  one  time  seemed  certain  defeat  and  inglorious  sur- 
render, into  the  most  brilliant  victory  of  guerrilla 
warfare. 

Cole  communicated  to  Quantrell  the  fact  that  in- 
side the  Federal  lines  was  a  large  farm-house  with 
adjacent  yards  filled  with  cattle.  His  advice,  there- 
fore, was  to  hold  the  enemy  in  check  until  night, 
make  every  indication  of  a  stubborn  resistance,  and 


32  THE  BORDEB  OUTLAWS. 

then  stampede  the  stock,  which  would  confuse  the 
Federals,  draw  their  fire  and  make  escape  possible, 
His  suggestions  were  at  once  received  with  the  great- 
est favor  and,  for  the  time  being,  he  was  practically 
placed  in  command  of  the  force.  All  day  the  fight- 
ing was  continued,  but  the  loss  of  the  Federals  was 
quite  severe,  while  the  guerrillas  suffered  slightly, 
owing  to  the  excellence  of  their  fortification,  and  the 
difficulty  of  throwing  shells  through  the  heavy  growth 
of  timber.  When  night  approached,  the  guerrillas 
made  active  use  of  the  axe  in  felling  more  trees,  os- 
tensibly to  strengthen  their  position,  but  in  reality  to 
deceive  the  Federals,  and  the  ruse  was  successful. 
The  night  was  one  of  unusual  darkness,  as  there  was 
no  moon  and  the  heaviest  clouds  banked  the  sky. 
Out  into  the  gloom  crept  Cole  Younger,  William 
Haller,  Dave  Poole  and  George  Todd,  four  men 
whose  hearts  never  harbored  fear,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes after  they  left  the  quiet  camp  a  terrible  confusion 
was  heard  in  the  barn-yard  ;  chickens  were  cackling, 
dogs  barking,  and  in  the  noise  a  score  of  affrighted 
cattle  were  heard  running  and  bellowing,  their  speed 
being  accelerated  by  several  pistol  shots,  which, 
brought  the  Federal  camp  to  arms  in  the  belief  that 
the  guerrillas  were  upon  them.  The  cattle  were  mis- 
taken for  foes  and  a  lively  rattle  of  musketry  told 
how  successful  had  been  the  strategy  of  Cole  Youn- 
ger and  his  aids. 

The  confusion  resulting  from  the  stampede  and  the 
darkness  permitted  the  guerrillas   to  withdraw  from 


COLE  YOUNGER' S  CATTLE  STAMPEDE. 


33  o. 


34  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

their  beleaguered  position  and  when  morning  broke 
they  were  in  the  rear  of  the  Federals  ready  to  make 
a  bold  stroke,  which  had  already  been  agreed  upon. 
Quantrell  knew  the  position  of  the  battery  and  that 
the  line  could  hardly  withstand  a  determined  assault 
at  any  point. 

When  the  dawn  came  Quantrell  followed  Cole 
Younger  in  a  desperate  charge  upon  the  surprised 
artillerymen,  and  the  battery  was  captured  with  the 
least  show  of  resistance.  A  large  force  of  cavalry, 
under  the  command  of  Jennison,  was  seen  rapidly 
approaching  at  this  instant,  and  as  they  wheeled  to 
the  right  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  junction  with 
Buel's  infantry  the  latter  officer  mistook  Jennison's 
force  for  Col.  Upton  Hayes,  Confederates,  and  the 
greatest  disorder  was  at  once  developed.  Quantrell 
took  advantage  of  the  mistake,  and  in  a  moment  he 
dashed  among  the  demoralized  infantry  and  turned 
loose  the  captured  battery  upon  the  now  thoroughly 
routed  foe.  Seeing  Col.  Buel's  infantry  cut  to  pieces 
Col.  Jennison  concluded  that  the  Confederates,  or 
guerrillas,  were  massed  in  large  numbers  and  that  it 
was  discretion  on  his  part  to  withdraw.  But  he  was 
not  permitted  to  escape  the  fire  of  the  guerrillas,  who 
turned  from  the  pursuit  of  Col.  Buel's  panic-stricken 
command  and  directed  their  guns  upon  Jennison. 
His  cavalry  never  having  been  under  fire  before, 
were  soon  thrown  into  disorder,  the  horses  being 
stampeded  by  the  shells  and  whistling  bullets,  and 
but  for  the  protection  of  a  friendly  corn-field   the 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  35 

havoc  would  have  been  terrible.  The  victory,  how- 
ever, was  complete,  resulting  in  a  loss  of  one  hundred 
Federals,  a  large  number  of  horses,  twelve  hundred 
rounds  of  ammunition — an  ammunition  train  being 
at  the  time  escorted  by  Col.  Jennison — and  a  battery 
of  two  ten-pound  guns.  The  loss  of  the  guerrillas 
was  only  eight  men.  The  cannon  were  spiked  and 
then  thrown  into  the  Big  Blue. 

In  this  battle  the  remarkable  fortunes  of  war  are 
manifested.  The  Federals  were  as  brave  and  com- 
manded by  as  good  officers  as  were  the  guerrillas, 
but  the  strategy  which  first  permitted  the  latter  to 
escape,  and  the  determined  charge,  followed  by  a 
mistake  on  the  part  of  the  Federals,  placed  them  al- 
most at  the  mercy  of  the  guerrillas.  It  is  little  inci- 
dents which  often  win  battles,  not  always  bravery  or 
larger  forces. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BLACK  FLAG. 

The  circumstances  which  created  the  black  ban- 
ner and  made  it  the  in  hoc  signo  of  the  guerrillas, 
have  never  been  related  in  history,  important  and  in- 
teresting as  they  are.  The  facts  which  are  herewith 
recorded  were  obtained  from  Geo.  Shepherd,  than 
whom  no  other  man  now  living  is  so  competent  to 
give  the  truthful  particulars. 

Living  in  Lafayette  county,  Missouri,  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1862,  was  a  family  by  the  name  of  Fickle, 


36 


THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 


consisting  of  the  old  gentleman,  whose  first  name 
Shepherd  has  quite  forgotten,  his  wife,  and  a  daugh- 
ter, twenty  years  of  age,  named  Annie.  The  family 
were  all  of  intense  Confederate  predilections,  but 
while  the  old  gentleman  contented  himself  with  giv- 


GEO.   SHEPHERD. 

ing  expression  to  his  opinions  only  among  his  imme- 
diate friends,  his  daughter  was  virulent  and  overt  in 
her  sentiments  and  sympathies,  which  caused  her 
father  no  little  solicitude,  for  in  those  days  men  were 
killed  for  ooinion's  sake. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  37 

In  May,  one  of  Shepherd's  guerrilla  comrades  was 
found  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Fickle,  by  a  company  of 
Federals,  and  was  arrested.  The  guerrilla  was  a  par- 
ticular friend — perhaps  a  lover — of  Miss  Annie's,  and 
when  the  arrest  was  made  she  became  so  abusive  to 
the  Federals  that  she  was  also  taken  into  custody 
and  carried  into  Lexington,  where  she  was  imprisoned 
for  a  week,  and  then  permitted  to  return  home. 

The  guerrillas  were  very  anxious  to  secure  the  re- 
lease of  their  comrade,  whose  fate,  if  not  averted  by 
some  special  means,  they  could  readily  anticipate. 
To  accomplish  this  Shepherd  called  on  Miss  Annie, 
through  whose  influence  with  a  Federal  lieutenant, 
who  was  her  cousin,  he  hoped  to  procure  an  exchange 
of  prisoners  that  would  liberate  his  friend.  Annie 
forthwith  placed  herself  in  communication  with  her 
lieutenant  cousin  and  finally  appointed  a  meeting  be- 
tween Shepherd  and  the  Federal  officer.  At  this 
meeting  the  lieutenant  agreed  to  effect  the  release 
of  the  captive  guerrilla  for  the  sum  of  #400,  which 
being  consented  to,  another  appointment  was  made 
for  the  succeeding  night,  at  which  the  money  was-to 
be  paid  and  the  captive  would  be  at  a  certain  place 
to  which  they  would  ride  and  meet  him. 

Shepherd  had  not  entertained  the  slightest  suspi- 
cion of  treachery  because  of  the  supreme  confidence 
he  reposed  in  Miss  Annie.  True  to  the  engagement, 
he  met  the  lieutenant  at  the  trysting  place  shortly 
after  nightfall,  and  together  they  rode  to  the  spot  in- 
dicated.    After  passing  several  miles  they  came  to 


38  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

an  angle  where  the  road  they  were  traveling  united 
with  another.  At  this  point  on  one  side  was  a  stone 
fence  and  on  the  other  a  large  pile  of  brush.  As  the 
two  approached  the  brush-pile  about  twenty  Fed- 
erals arose  from  the  ambush  and  fired  on  Shepherd, 
killing  his  horse  which,  in  the  fall,  pinioned  one  of 
his  feet  for  a  moment,  but  as  horse  and  rider  fell, 
Shepherd  drew  his  pistol  and  killed  the  lieutenant, 
whose  treachery  was  then  apparent.  By  extraordi- 
nary efforts  Shepherd  released  himself  and  darted  for 
the  stone  fence,  which  he  leaped  amid  a  shower  of 
bullets,  and,  being  fleet  of  foot,  ran  rapidly  along 
and  behind  the  fence  until  he  had  outstripped  his 
pursuers,  who  groped  aimlessly  in  the  dark,  not  be- 
ing able  to  discover  which  direction  Shepherd  had 
taken. 

Three  weeks  after  this  narrow  escape,  and  two 
weeks  after  the  execution  of  the  captured  guerrilla, 
who  was  shot,  Major  Blunt,  commanding  the  post  of 
Independence,  (Shepherd  is  not  certain,  but  believes 
Blunt  was  in  command  at  the  time,  and  that  he  was 
also  the  author  of  the  order),  issued  an  order  which 
he  caused  to  be  printed  in  the  Independence  paper, 
to  the  effect  that  from  the  given  date,  guerrillas  cap- 
tured would  not  be  treated  as  ordinary  prisoners  of 
war,  and  that  all  parties  found  bearing  arms  against 
the  United  States  of  America,  to  the  district  speci- 
fied in  the  proclamation,  would  be  regarded  as  guer- 
rillas and  punished  as  such.  The  inference  gained 
from  reading  the  order  was  that  thereafter  all  guer- 


u 

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CD 

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ID 

ec 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  39 

rillas  or.  armed  forces  opposing  the  United  States 
would,  in  case  of  capture,  be  executed.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  order  was,  no  doubt,  to  prevent  by 
intimidation,  the  recruiting  of  Confederate  com- 
panies in  Jackson  county,  and  hardly  contemplated 
the  harsh  and  cruel  methods  which  inference  had  at- 
tached to  it,  for  it  was  never  put  into  execution. 

A  few  days  after  the  issuance  of  this  order,  while 
Quantrell  and  his  company,  of  about  sixty  men, 
were  camped  near  the  little  church  in  Sny-Bar  town- 
ship, the  pickets  reported  the  presence  of  Annie 
Fickle,  who  desired  an  audience  with  the  command. 
She  was,  of  course,  admitted  and  her  mission  was  to 
make  a  presentation.  Under  her  left  arm  she  carried 
a  bundle  wrapped  in  a  newspaper,  and  in  her  left 
hand  there  was  a  strong,  smoothly  polished  hickory 
pole.  Annie,  though  born  where  nature  was  rugged 
in  the  wilderness  of  its  untrained  productiveness,  was 
nevertheless  of  a  romantic  temperament.  Plain  of 
speech,  she  was,  notwithstanding,  gifted  with  lofty 
sentiments,  and  it  was  these  she  had  gathered  that 
day  and  arranged  in  a  bouquet  of  fervid  enthusiasm. 
Giving  a  courteous  bow  to  Quantrell,  she  asked  him 
to  have  his  men  assemble  for  a  moment  around  her. 
I  ler  request  being  complied  with,  she  unrolled  the 
bundle  and  taking  the  paper  which  bound  it,  she 
read  Maj.  Blunt's  order  of  "  death  to  all  guerrillas," 
then  in  a  brief  harangue  she  addressed  the  men  in 
language,  nearly   as  can  be  remembered,  as  follows; 

"  It  is  a  hard  fate  which  awaits  every  brave  Southern 
soul  found  in  Missouri  fighting  for  a  cause  as  sacred 


40  THE  BORDER  OUTLA  WS. 

to  every  true  man  as  is  the  love  of  God.  To  falter 
now,  is  to  betray  the  holier  instincts  of  love  and  lib- 
erty, and  in  the  peril  which  this  infamous  and  bloody 
order  imposes  upon  the  noblest  sons  of  Missouri,  I 
can  see  rising  this  oriflamme,  (shaking  out  the  folds 
of  the  black  banner),  which,  though  black  as  death, 
is  purified  by  the  righteous  cause  it  represents.  Life 
to  life  and  blood  for  blood ;  let  the  border  ring  with 
the  cry  of  freedom,  Quantrell  and  the  sunny  South, 
oae  and  indivisible  forever,  and  to  you,  into  whose 
hands  I  entrust  this  banner,  let  me  nerve  you  with 
my  prayers  and  entreaties  never  to  lower  it  so  long 
as  there  is  a  hand  to  clutch  the  staff,  or  until  the 
principles  of  the  Confederacy  are  decided  by  the 
sword  and  bayonet,  when  there  is  no  longer  hope  for 
appeal. 

"  And  ever  let  your  battle-cry  be, 
Quantrell  and  Southern  Supremacy  I" 

While  making  this  little  speech  Annie  unrolled  the 
black  banner,  which  had  been  carefully  bound  up  in 
the  paper  containing  Blunt's  order,  and  spread  it  up- 
on the  grass.  When  her  remarks  were  concluded, 
she  produced  a  hammer  and  nails  and  fastened  the 
flag  to  the  hickory  pole  in  a  dozen  places. 

The  banner  was  made,  by  Annie's  own  hands,  of 
quilted  alpaca,  four  thicknesses,  and  its  dimensions 
were  three  by  five  feet.  In  the  center  was  deftly 
worked,  in  sombre  colored  letters,  the  name  "Quan- 
trell," running  endwise  through  the  middle  of  the 
flag.     The  pole  was  eight  feet  in  length. 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  41 

The  donation  was  received  in  a  demonstrative 
manner  of  approval,  the  men  lifting  their  hats  and 
giving  three  cheers  for  Annie  Fickle,  while  Quantrell 
thanked  her  heartily  and  promised  to  carry  and  pro- 
tect the  banner  so  long  as  he  had  life  to  do  it  Jim 
Little  was  chosen  color-bearer,  and  he  bore  it  con- 
spicuously, though  not  in  every  combat,  until  after 
the  destruction  of  Lawrence.  The  flag  was  carried 
with  Quantrell  to  Kentucky  in#i864,  torn  as  it  was 
by  a  hundred  bullets,  and  disappeared  with  the  guer- 
rilla band  in  their  last  fight.  Its  remnants  may  still 
be  preserved  by  some  Kentucky  relic  lover,  but  if 
so,  its  owner  is  not  known  to  Shepherd. 


THE  PILLAGE  OF  OSCEOLA. 

Following  the  fight  at  Indian  Creek  came  the  pil- 
lage of  Osceola,  in  St.  Clair  county,  by  Jim  Lane. 
This  act,  though  unaccompanied  by  horrors  like 
those  which  distinguished  the  Lawrence  raid,  was 
equally  as  indefensible.  Osceola  was  a  flourishing 
town  of  about  one  thousand  inhabitants  whose  peace- 
ful homes  were  not  disturbed  or  threatened  until  the 
jayhawkers  came  down  upon  it  like  a  wolf  in  the 
night  and  applied  the  torch  to  every  building  of  any 
consequence  in  the  place.  By  the  light  of  the  de- 
stroying flames  stores  were  plundered  and  many  out- 
rages perpetrated  upon  the  defenseless  citizens.  It 
was  the  result  of  savage  and  dishonest  natures  re- 


42  o. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  43 

lieved  of  all  legal  restraint  and  encouraged  to  exer- 
cise their  vandalism  and  thievish  bents  by  unscrupu- 
lous and  equally  criminal  officials.  Osceola  became 
the  war  cry  of  the  guerrillas  for  years  afterward,  and 
to  this  day  when  the  stigma  of  Lawrence  is  pointed 
out  to  the  Younger  Brothers  they  never  fail  to  refer 
to  Osceola  as  the  prime  cause  for  that  dreadful  holo- 
caust. 


THE  SECOND  FIGHT  AT   THE   BLUE   CUT. 

Cole  Younger  was  appointed  second  lieutenant  in 
Quantrell's  command  in  April,  1862,  and  thereafter  the 
squad  fighting  by  guerrillas  was  begun.  In  June  in- 
formation reached  Quantrell  that  a  company  of  fifty 
men,  under  Capt.  Long,  was  on  the  Harrisonville  and 
Independence  road,  foraging  on  the  route  to  the  lat- 
ter place.  Cole  Younger  was  given  a  detail  of  twenty- 
five  men  and  ordered  to  ambush  the  detachment  of 
Federals  at  the  Blue  Cut,  an  order  which  he  exe- 
cuted with  what  success  will  appear.  From  spies 
sent  in  advance  Cole  learned  that  among  the  Feder- 
als was  a  former  guerrilla  by  the  name  of  Shoat,  who 
had  enlisted  under  Quantrell  a  few  months  previously 
and  then  deserted,  carrying  with  him  valuable  infor- 
mation for  the  enemy.  Cole  had  harbored  the  sus- 
picion that  Shoat,  was  a  spy  and  he  therefore  became 
specially  anxious  to  kill  him.  Capt.  Long,  however, 
was  an  old  acquaintance  of  Cole's,  and  in  earlier  days 


44  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

the  two  had  been  boyhood  friends,  little  recking  how- 
destiny  had  linked  them  to  antagonistic  causes' in  the 
desperation  of  guerrilla  warfare. 

Having  posted  his  men  advantageously  so  as  to 
sweep  the  cut  with  a  galling  fire  when  the  Federals 
should  enter,  Cole  spoke  to  his  comrades  and  beg- 
ged of  them,  under  no  circumstances,  to  kill  Capt. 
Long,  whom  he  thoroughly  described,  but  at  all  haz- 
zards  not  to  allow  Shoat  to  escape. 

It  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  June 
1 2th  when  the  Federals  rode  into  the  cut  unsuspi- 
cious of  any  lurking  danger,  when  suddenly  a  volley 
from  twenty-six  pistols  dissipated  the  good  humor  of 
that  unfortunate  command  and  a  fight  to  the  death 
was  begun.  Capt.  Long  was  a  man  of  extraordinary 
nerve,  and  by  his  heroic  words  and  bravery  rallied 
his  surprised  force  and  notwithstanding  his  disadvan- 
tage he  stood  for  a  time  like  a  stone  wall,  giving  shot 
for  shot.  The  guerrillas,  however,  fought  from  the 
summit  of  the  cut  and  it  was  therefore  impossible 
for  the  Federals  to  reach  them. 

Fifteen  minutes  of  desperate  fighting,  with  the 
havoc  all  on  one  side,  caused  a  stampede  and  the  de- 
moralized Union  forces  dashed  over  their  dead  and 
wounded  comrades  in  determined  effort  to  escape,  des- 
pite the  entreaties  of  their  commander.  When  the 
rout  became  general  Cole  Younger  ordered  a  pur- 
suit in  which  he  shot  Capt.  Long's  horse  from  under 
him,  and  then,  espying  Shoat,  he  gave  chase  and  at 
the  second  fire  from  his  heavy  pistol  shot  the  desert- 


THE -YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  45 

er  in  the  back,  breaking  the  spinal  cord,  from  which 
death  resulted  in  a  few  moments.  Cole  then  rode 
back  to  Capt.  Long,  who  had  been  made  a  prisoner, 
and  greeted  him  in  the  same  cordial  manner  as  if  the 
two  had  met  after  a  long  separation  under  happiest 
influences  and  unsevered  friendship.  A  few  moments 
were  spent  in  conversation,  after  which  a  list  of  the 
dead  and  wounded  was  made,  and  then  the  prisoners, 
numbering  ten,  including  Capt.  Long,  were  released 
on  parole.  In  this  sharp  fight  the  Federals  lost 
twenty-seven  killed  and  wounded,  while  the  guerrillas 
suffered  the  loss  of  only  three  men  killed  and  five 
wounded,  one  fatally. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  WALNUT  CREEK. 

In  July,  1862,  Quantrell's  command  had  been  in- 
creased to  seventy-five  men,  an  addition  of  twelve 
men  having  been  made  by  a  union  with  Jack  Rider 
who  had  been  ravaging  the  border  counties  on  his 
own  account.  With  this  force  Quantrell  decided  to 
make  a  retreat  from  the  Sny  hills  and  enter  Harri- 
sonville,  which  at  this  time  contained  a  large  amount 
of  provisions  guarded  by  about  one  hundred  raw 
Federals.  His  designs  were  frustrated,  however,  by 
his  advance  guards  reporting  large  bodies  of  scout- 
ing militia  on  every  side.  The  roads  were,  in  fact, 
so  well  protected  by  the  Union  forces  that  Quantrell 
was  forced  to  take  to  the  woods,  and  even  this  course 


46  THE^  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

did  not  exempt  him  from  pursuit,  for  his  trail  was 
followed  persistently  and  being  unable  to  throw  the 
enemy  off  his  track  he  was  compelled  to  retrace  his 
steps  and  make  for  the  Sny  again. 

After  several  days  of  hard  marching,  Quantrell 
pitched  his  camp  on  Walnut  Creek,  in  Johnson  coun- 
ty, which  he  fortified  by  felling  heavy  trees  and  mak- 
ing his  retreat  inaccessible  to  cavalry  except  at 
passes  left  for  the  convenience  of  his  own  troops. 
Cole  Younger  was  sent  out  on  the  13th  of  July  to 
reconnoitre  and  forage,  taking  with  him  twelve  men 
well  mounted.  Upon  reaching  the  house  of  Joe. 
Larkin,  a  detachment  of  fifteen  men  was  espied  rid- 
ing up  the  road  in  advance  of  a  large  force  of  Fed- 
erals. Cole  and  his  men  had  dismounted  and  their 
horses  were  feeding  back  of  the  house.  Hastily  call- 
ing his  squad  together,  he  ordered  them  to  hide  be- 
hind some  quilts,  which  had  been  washed  that  day 
and  left  on  the  fence  to  dry.  Thus  secreted, 
they  awaited  the  approach  of  the  Federal  advance, 
until  they  were  in  the  road  immediately  opposite, 
when  suddenly  the  guerrillas  arose  as  if  from  the 
ground  and  poured  such  a  deadly  fire  upon  the  fif- 
teen astonished  Federals  that  but  one  escaped.  The 
main  body  was  so  surprised  at  this  sudden  and  fatal 
attack  upon  the  advance-guard,  tha,t  it  halted  and 
formed  it  line  of  battle  in  anticipation  of  a  charge, 
as  the  Federals  had  no  idea  of  the  guerrilla  force. 
At  this  juncture  an  additional  force  of  two  hundred 
Butler  county  militia  appeared,  and  thus  reinforced, 


47  o. 


48  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

the  Federals  advanced  while  Cole  mounted  his  men 
and  retreated  to  the  camp,  where  preparations  were 
made  to  receive  the  enemy.  There  was  no  delay, 
for  Quantrell  had  scarcely  time  to  close  the  passage 
through  which  Cole  Younger  and  his  squad  had  en- 
tered, before  the  Federal  cavalry,  now  four  hundred 
strong,  made  an  impetuous  charge,  but  they  recoiled 
before  the  murderous  fire  of  the  well-protected  guer- 
rillas. A  second  charge  followed,  led  by  as  brave 
men  as  ever  rode  in  battle,  but  again  from  the  barri- 
cades streamed  flames  of  death  until  the  brook 
which  babbled  along  the  base  of  the  hills  was  gorged 
with  the  dead.  The  baffled  and  distressed  cavalry 
fell  back  in  broken  ranks  and  formed  on  a  hill  two 
hundred  yards  distant,  evidently  to  hold  a  council. 
For  two  hours  not  a  sound  disturbed  the  stillness  of 
the  forest.  The  two  armies  were  content  to  quietly 
contemplate  the  intentions  and  strength  of  each 
other.  In.  the  afternoon,  about  four  o'clock,  the 
Federals  were  again  reinforced  by  another  body  of 
two  hundred  men,  and  the  attack  was  renewed.  A 
force  of  one  hundred  deployed  down  the  creek  and 
another  detachment  of  two  hundred  was  sent  to  at- 
tack the  guerrillas  in  the  rear,  but  the  bluffs  pre- 
vented the  latter  force  from  reaching  a  point  where 
they  could  be  effective.  A  combined  attack  was 
agreed  on,  but  when  the  charge  from  the  front  was 
made  again,  the  main  body  was  unsupported  by  the 
three  hundred  troops  sent  to  attack  the  flank  and 
rear,  and  a  terrible  repulse  was  the  consequence. 


49  o. 


$0  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

The  several  disastrous  charges  made  by  the  Fed 
erals  convinced  them  that  the  cavalry  was  useless 
against  such  a  strongly  fortified  foe,  and  a  new  plan 
of  attack  was  resolved  upon.  All  the  troops  were 
dismounted  and  their  horses  secured  in  the  ravine 
five  hundred  yards  north  of  the  battle-ground.  The 
combined  force  then  moved  in  infantry  columns,  and 
with  solid  phalanx  ascended  the  hill,  reserving  their 
fire  until  the  last  moment.  The  sight  now  was  a 
grand  one.  The  guerrillas,  with  double-barreled  shot- 
guns loaded  deep  with  slugs  and  buck-shot,  lay  low 
behind  their  barricades  and  waited  the  approach  of 
the  enemy.  Not  a  gun  was  fired,  nor  a  word  uttered 
until  the  Federals  had  almost  reached  the  sheltering 
works  and  were  preparing  to  scale  them,  when  sud- 
denly there  was  a  rattling  peal  which  shook  the 
sleeping  forest  and  a  cry  of  anguish  arose  which  con- 
verted that  spot  into  a  place  too  horrible  for  nature. 
The  line  wavered  under  that  mortal  fire,  but  the  rents 
were  repaired  in  the  attacking  column,  and  the  onset 
continued.  It  was  almost  a  steady  stream  of  deadly 
fire  that  poured  over  and  through  the  crevices  of  the 
fallen  trees  and  the  havoc  was  too  terrible  for  the 
bravest  to  stand.  Despite  their  exposed  position  the 
Federals  fought  with  a  valor  never  surpassed  ;  though 
their  ranks  were  melting  away  like  a  thin  depth  of 
snow  before  a  warm  sun,  yet  the  survivors  were  men 
of  steel  and  fought  like  heroes  battling  for  life.  Not- 
withstanding the  protecting  butts  of  large  trees,  the 
guerrillas  suffered   severely.      Quantrell    was    shot 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  51 

through  the  leg,  but  still  he  fought  and  cheered  his 
men  while  the  blood  ran  away  and  wasted  his  strength  ; 
Cole  Younger  had  his  clothes  riddled  with  bullets 
and  his  hat  shot  off;  Geo.  Shepherd  was  hit  in  the 
arm,  and  more  than  a  dozen  of  Quantrell's  men  were 
lying  here  and  there,  in.  pools  of  their  own  blood, 
never  to  fight  again.  To  render  escape  more  difficult, 
nearly  half  of  Quantrell's  horses  were  killed  and  the 
country  was  almost  as  thickly  beset  by  large  bands 
of  scouting  Federals  as  with  trees,  brush  and  lofty 
bluffs. 

The  charging  forces  were  four  times  beaten  back 
from  the  impregnable  barricade,  tottering  under  the 
flying  pellets  of  death,  but  rallying  again  and  again 
until  the  dusky  shadows  of  evening  obscured  foe 
from  foe.  The  roar  of  battle  ceased  gradually  and 
when  the  smoke  uplifted  nothing  relieved  the  pain- 
ful quiet  which  succeeded  save  the  shrill  piping  of 
summer  insects  and  the  distant  monotone  of  a  solil- 
oquizing owl. 

Late  in  the  night  Cole  Younger,  with  two  others, 
was  sent  out  to  locate  the  enemy  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  the  safest  avenue  of  escape.  Quantrell's 
wound  was  now  giving  him  much  pain,  his  fighting 
force  was  seriously  crippled  and  his  ammunition  al- 
most exhausted.  To  remain  and  risk  the  battle 
which  was  certain  to  be  renewed  on  the  morrow,  he 
realized  would  be  sure  defeat  followed  by  the  most 
disastrous  consequences. 

Directly  after  Younger  and  his  two  comrades  left 
the  camp  to  reconnoitre  a  heavy  rain  began  to  fall 


52  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

which,  rattling  among  the  trees,  permitted  them  to 
proceed  with  less  fear  of  detection  and  indisposed 
the  Federal  pickets  to  keep  vigilant  guard,  for  they 
were  already  fairly  exhausted  from  fighting,  and  nat- 
urally sought  shelter  and  rest. 

It  was  nearly  twelve  o'clock,  midnight,  when  the 
daring  spy  returned  and  made  his  report  to  Quantrell. 
Cole  had  crawled  inside  the  Federal  lines,  located 
every  squad  and  picket,  and  then  found  a  clear  pas- 
sage, but  it  was  up  a  dreadfully  steep  hillside  which 
only  the  surest  footed  animal  could  climb.  But  even 
this  information  was  encouraging,  and  hurriedly  yet 
silently  the  camp  was  raised,  the  wounded  mounted 
with  aids,  and  the  tattered  ranks  of  the  guerrillas  were 
put  in  motion.  It  occupied  more  than  an  hour's 
time  to  get  the  horses  and  men  up  the  hillside,  and 
in  the  confusion  the  Federal  camp  was  aroused  to 
Quantrell's  intention.  The  darkness,  however,  was 
friendly  to  the  guerrillas  and  protected  them  in  their 
escape,  many  of  them  being  compelled  to  ride  double, 
owing  to  the  scarcity  of  horses.  The  Sny  hills  were 
reached, the  wounded  were  left  at  the  houses  of  friends, 
and  hastily  separating  the  trail  was  broken. 


AMBUSCADES  AND    HARD   FIGHTING. 

Quantrell  and  Shepherd  received  the  best  surgical 
attention,  and  as  their  wounds  were  slight  they  soon 
recovered  sufficiently  to  resume  active  operations. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  53 

Before  calling  the  command  together,  however,  Cole 
Younger  and  George  Shepherd  were  sent  into  Kan- 
sas City  with  instructions  to  procure  all  the  ammu- 
nition possible,  while  Quantreli  went  to  St.  Joseph  to 
collect  arms.  The  guerrillas  being  life-long  residents 
of  the  neighborhood  in  which  they  fought,  had  many 
valuable  friends  who  gave  important  aid  in  all  their 
undertakings.  It  was  not  difficult  to  procure  muni- 
tions of  war  in  Kansas  City,  and  in  two  days  after 
entering  the  place  a  goodly  store  was  secured,  which 
was  loaded  into  a  wagon  and  the  two  guerrillas  start- 
ed back  to  the  appointed  rendezvous  on  the  Sny. 
Five  miles  from  the  city  they  put  up  at  a  friend's  house 
for  the  night,but  before  bed-time  they  were  surround- 
ed by  a  body  of  Federal  cavalry  who,  by  some 
means,  learned  of  Younger  and  Shepherd's  visit  to 
Kansas  City  and  had  been  placed  on  their  trail  by 
spies.  Back  of  the  house  was  a  field  of  wheat  al- 
most ready  for  the  harvest,  and  in  this  the  wagon 
was  secreted,  while  the  horses  were  larriated  between 
two  out-buildings,  ready  for  emergencies  which 
were  anticipated.  The  Federals  demanded  an  imme- 
diate surrender,  accompanying  the  order  with  a  threat 
to  fire  the  house  in  case  of  a  refusal.  The  position, 
critical  in  the  extreme  though  it  was,  induced  no 
thought  of  capitulation.  Looking  out  of  the  win- 
dows the  guerrillas  discovered  where  the  guard  was 
weakest  and  drawing  their  revolvers  they  rushed  out 
of  the  back  door,  killing  four  men  as  they  ran,  and 
gained  their  horses  in  a  shower  of  leaden  rain.    Both 


54  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

were  struck,  Cole  being  hit  with  three  balls,  which 
produced  only  flesh  wounds,  however,  while  Shep- 
herd was  shot  in  the  shoulder  and  thigh,  which  pre- 
vented him  from  keeping  his  horse,  after  riding  a 
few  hundred  yards.  Younger  succored  him  with 
true  comrade  sympathy  and  under  the  cover  of  night 
the  two  made  good  their  escape,  and  again  Shepherd 
was  given  over  to  the  care  of  friends  until  his  wounds 
should  heal. 

Younger,  seeing  his  friend  provided  for,  bandaged 
his  own  wounds  and  then  joined  Todd  on  the  Big 
Blue,  where,  on  the  following  day,  with  a  squad  of 
fifteen  men  they  fell  on  the  flank  of  a  Federal  scout- 
ing party  which  they  routed,  killing  six  of  the  num- 
ber. Three  days  after,  the  same  guerrilla  force  came 
upon  an  ammunition  and  supply  train  under  the  con- 
voy of  fifty  Federal  cavalry  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Johnson  county,  Kansas.  The  meeting  occurred  on 
the  banks  of  the  Aubrey,  and,  fortunately  for  the 
guerrillas,  they  found  the  enemy  powerless,  owing  to 
their  intoxicated  condition,  as  with  the  train  were 
several  barrels  of  whiskey.  The  attack  was  a  slaugh- 
ter as  of  helpless  brutes,,  not  a  Federal  escaping,  and 
the  atrocities  of  the  murder  are  shocking  to  remem- 
ber even  now.  Men  were  shot  down  and  then  bay- 
oneted, their  riddled  carcasses  being  left  to  fester  in 
the  summer  sun.  The  supplies  captured  were  taken 
to  the  retreat  in  the  hills,  more  than  compensating 
for  the  loss  of  the  wagon  left  by  Younger  and  Shep- 
herd in  the  wheat  field. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  55 

Five  days  later,  Todd  and  Younger  with  their  de- 
structive squad  of  fijjeen,  met  nineteen  Federals  as 
they  were  crossing  the  Big  Blue,  in  Jackson  county, 
in  a  hand  ferry-boat.  Awaiting  until  they  were  near 
the  shore  on  which  the  guerrillas  were  secreted,  such 
a  deadly  fire  was  poured  into  the  thoroughly  sur- 
prised Federals  that  not  a  single  one  escaped. 

These  fatal  surprises  made  the  Union  forces  more 
cautious  and  determined.  Spies  were  sent  out  to  lo- 
cate the  guerrillas  and  an  ambush  was  planned  into 
which  Todd  and  Younger  rode  without  a  suspicion 
of  danger.  Their  cruel  tactics  were  being  played 
against  them,  and  had  the  Federals  exhibited  the  re- 
morseless nature  of  their  enemies,  not  a  guerrilla  of 
that  band  would  have  been  left  to  tell  how  desperate 
was  the  assault  near  Stoney  Point. 

The  place  selected  for  the  ambush  was  a  rugged 
spot  on  the  road  between  Pink  Hill  and  Stoney 
Point,  about  one  mile  from  the  latter  place.  There 
was  a  shallow  cut  in  the  road  and  on  each  side  was 
a  heavy  timber  of  oak  and  hickory,  and  many  large 
rocks  which  afforded  the  most  secure  hiding-place 
for  an  enemy.  The  squad  rode  leisurely  into  the 
enfiladed  passage  with  Younger  and  Todd  at  the  head 
of  the  column,  who  were  chatting  humorously  to- 
gether about  their  recent  escapades.  Suddenly, 
right  ahead  of  them,  they  heard  a  shot  and  quickly 
following  was  a  rattle  of  rifles  and  the  whizz  of  bul- 
lets cutting  through  the  guerrilla  ranks,  emptying 
several  saddles  and  demoralizing  even  those  who  had 


THE  FEDERAL  AMBUSH 


56  O 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  $7 

faced  death  frequently  before,  when  it  stalked  in 
their  midst  in  more  hideous  aspect.  The  guerrillas 
dashed  through  the  guarded  road  and  with  rare  good 
luck  escaped  destruction.  The  Federals  had  not 
made  the  most  of  their  opportunity.  The  first  fire 
was  given  before  the  guerrillas  were  fully  in  the  pas- 
sage, owing  to  the  accidental  discharge  of  a  gun  which 
gave  warning  to  the  guerrillas,  and  compelled  the  Fed- 
erals to  deliver  their  fire  prematurely.  In  addition  to 
this  mistake,  instead  of  resorting  to  the  destructive 
revolver  and  furiously  charging  the  guerrillas  after 
firing  their  carbines,  the  Federals  waited  to  reload 
and  this  gave  the  enemy  time  to  recover  and  return 
the  fire,  after  which  they  dashed  off  towards  the  Blue 
with  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  cavalry  in  hot 
pursuit.  The  chase  continued  for  several  miles,  Todd 
and  Younger  hoping  to  reach  Quantrell,  who  had  re- 
ported his  return  from  St.  Joseph  with  a  large  num- 
ber of  navy  revolvers  and  one  hundred  carbines. 
When  they  reached  the  bridge  over  the  Blue,  on  the 
Kansas  City  road,  the  situation  became  more  com- 
plicated, for  directly  in  front  of  them,  Todd  and 
Younger,  who  were  in  advance,  discovered  a  body 
of  mounted  Federals  whose  carbines  and  sabres, 
glistening  in  the  sunlight,  bristled  with  preparation 
for  murderous  work.  Enemies  behind  and  in  front, 
more  than  twenty  times  their  own  number,  caused 
the  bravest  heart  in  that  little  band  to  sicken  with 
gravest  apprehension.  There  was  no  time  to  hesi- 
tate, it  was  of  all  others  the  moment  for  spontaneous 


58  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

action.  The  charge  was  ordered  at  the  enemy  in 
front,  but  what  could  so  small  a  force  do  against 
overwhelming  numbers  in  an  open  fight?  They  fell 
back  under  the  burden  of  that  galling  fire,  with 
Younger's  horse  shot  from  under  him ;  Todd's  cloth- 
ing cut  to  pieces ;  Martin  Shepherd  killed,  and  Blunt, 
Yaeger  and  Bledsoe  desperately  wounded.  Wheel- 
ing his  horse,  Todd  shouted  encouraging  words  to 
his  comrades  and  Younger,  with  a  pistol  in  each 
hand,  fighting  in  his  desperation,  shouted  to  the  band 
to  follow  him,  and  dashing  toward  the  bank  of  the 
stream,  which  rose  perpendicularly  more  than  five 
feet,  he  leaped  into  the  water  followed  by  those  on 
horseback.  They  crossed  under  an  ineffectual  fire 
and,  with  Younger  mounted  behind  Todd,  the  shat- 
tered squad  rode  through  the  brush  and  gained 
Quantrell's  retreat  in  the  Sny  hills. 


THE  FIGHT  AT  INDEPENDENCE. 

Col.  Upton  Hays  had  been  among  the  Sny  and 
Blue  hills  for  several  weeks  recruiting  a  Confederate 
regiment,  and  had  collected  a  force  of  six  hundred 
men.  Having  now  the  most  effective  arms  and  a 
good  supply  of  ammunition,  Quantrell  sought  an 
interview  with  Col.  Hays,  and  the  result  was  a  de- 
termination to  attack  Independence,  which  was  gar- 
risoned by  five  or  six  hundred  Federals,  under  com- 
mand of  Col.  Buel.     One  of  the  prime  motives  of 


>. 

3) 
33 
O 
< 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  59 

the  intended  attack  was  to  accomplish  the  deliver- 
ance of  about  thirty  Confederates  and  guerrillas,  who 
had  been  captured  and  were  then  confined  in  the  In- 
dependence jail. 

To  prepare  for  the  fight,  by  locating  and  fixing  the 
strength  of  the  Federals  in  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood, which  might  be  available  for  reinforcements 
to  harass  his  retreat,  if  such  a  movement  became 
necessary,  Col.  Hays  selected  five  of  Quantrell's 
bravest  men,  Cole  Younger,  Yaeger,  Miller,  Young 
and  Muir,  and  with  these,  made  a  detour  of  observa- 
tion, clothed  in  Federal  uniform. 

When  the  squad  reached  Westport,  they  found  the 
place  held  by  twenty-five  of  Jennison's  men  against 
whom  the  guerrillas  had  sworn  vengeance  and  a  fight 
of  extermination.  In  their  uniform  disguise,  Col. 
Hays  and  his  men  had  no  difficulty  in  entering  the 
place  without  molestation.  Finding  the  jayhawkers 
unprepared  for  an  attack,  Yaeger  shot  one  of  the 
guards,  which  became  the  signal  for  a  slaughter.  At 
the  first  volley  four  of  Jennison's  men  fell  dead,  and 
before  the  others  gained  their  arms  more  than  a 
dozen  more  were  killed  or  wounded.  One  specially 
obnoxious  German  was  chased  to  his  house  by  Cole 
Younger,  the  door  broken  in,  and  in  another  moment 
his  dead  body  was  dragged  into  the  street  by 
Younger,  who  shouted  :  "  Here  is  food  for  buzzards  1" 
The  remaining  jayhawkers  had  now  reached  the 
cover  of  buildings  and  procured  arms.  It  was  time 
for  Col.   Hays  and   his   uninjured  men   to    retreat, 


6o  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

which  they  did,  galloping  down  the  road  rapidly- 
only  to  find  the  way  obstructed  by  a  body  of  fifty 
cavalry.  A  blind  lane  turned  to  the  right  and  into 
this  the  squad  dashed,  bringing  up  suddenly  against 
the  fence  with  fifty  sabers  and  carbines  in  their  rear. 
Fortunately,  for  fortune  seemed  to  favor  the  guerril- 
las, the  fence  was  not  very  high  and  the  rails  rotten  ; 
it  was  therefore  easy  for  men  so  used  to  the  saddle 
and  desperate  extremities  to  leap  the  barrier  and  fly 
over  the  field  to  safety.  Much  valuable  information 
was  gained  by  the  detour,  but  the  most  important 
knowledge  concerned  Independence  ;  how  the  forces 
were  stationed  ;  the  strategic  points  in  the  place ; 
the  location  of  the  jail ;  the  exact  force  of  the  gar- 
rison and  the  preparations  to  resist  attack  from  every 
side.  Who  should  gather  this  information  ?  Upon 
whom  the  service  would  devolve  was  determined 
with  the  query,  for  who  was  so  well  adapted  to  such 
dangerous  adventures  as  Cole  Younger  ?  Who  so  fer- 
tile of  resource,  so  cunning  in  conversation,  so  per- 
fect in  disguise  ?  Cole  was  selected  to  perform  the 
dangerous  mission  of  a  spy,  and,  with  all  its  attend- 
ant perils,  he  was  as  happy  in  such  a  recognition  of 
his  abilities  as  «t  school  boy  with  his  merit  mark. 

Left  to  his  own  judgment,  Cole  procured  an  an- 
cient, home-spun  linsey-woolsey  dress,  in  which  he 
had  some  alterations  made  to  better  accommodate 
his  person.  Next  in  importance  was  an  old  faded 
sun-bonnet  wich  yellow  strings  and  broken  pasteboard 
stiffening.     His  feet   he  encased   in   men's   gaiters, 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  61 

which  were  split  up  in  the  center  to  give  them  the 
appearance  of  women's  shoes ;  a  rough  wig  with  hair 
combed  closely  down  over  his  temples,  completed 
the  personal  outfit.  For  conveyance  he  rode  a  horse 
in  whose  eyes  lingered  an  unchangeable  disposition 
to  sleep,  but  in  his  heels  there  was  the  speed  of  a 
hurricane.  The  saddle  was  for  a  man,  which,  in  that 
section  of  country,  performed  duty  for  male  and  fe- 
male members  of  the  family  alike.  The  bridle  was 
comical  to  look  upon.  It  had  originally  been  a 
blind-bridle,  but  now  one  of  the  blinds  had  fallen 
off;  the  throat-latch  was  a  tow  string,  and  the  curb 
was  of  home-spun  woolsey,  while  rope  and  tow- 
strings  held  many  of  the  broken  parts  of  the  bridle 
together,  and  a  piece  of  sea-grass  rope  answered  the 
purpose  of  reins. 

Thus  attired,  with  a  large  covered  market  basket 
on  his  arm,  Cole  Younger  rode  into  Independence  on 
the  main  highway.  The  pickets  gave  no  heed  to  the 
ancient  backwoods  grandmother,  and  Cole  rode  up 
into  the  public  square,  where,  after  hitching  his  horse, 
he  spoke  kindly  to  many  of  the  soldiers  and  gave 
them  large  red  apples  from  his  basket.  A  crowd  of 
soldiers  gafcjiered  around  him,  to  whom  he  gave  all 
his  apples  and  then  began  a  conversation  as  follows: 

Said  Cole,  changing  his  voice  to  a  tone  suitable  to 
his  appearance :  "  I  am  nothing  but  a  poor  old 
woman  with  few  years  before  me,  but  I've  lived  un- 
der this  government  a  long  time,  and,  do  you  know, 
I  can't  think  about  the  effort  that  is  now  being  made 


62  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

to  destroy  it,  without  crying.  You  see,  old  folks 
don't  like  to  change,  and  they  are  always  anxious  for 
their  children  to  enjoy  all  the  good  things  they  have 
enjoyed." 

"  Where  do  you  live  ?"  interrupted  one  of  the 
soldiers. 

"I  live  out  near  Pink  Hill,  about  ten  miles  from 
here,  right  in  a  nest  of  the  worst  rebels  in  fifty  miles 
of  the  Sny.  Quantrell  has  been  laying  around  there 
for  these  two  months  past ;  has  stolen  all  my  chick- 
ens, taken  the  best  hoss  I  had,  and  poor  Johnnie,  my 
baby,  only  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  carried  away  and 
flogged  him  almost  to  death  because  he  was  my  child 
and  Union  to  the  core." 

"  Where  is  Quantrell  now?"  asked  a  soldier,  evi- 
dently much  interested  in  the  old  woman's  honest 
and  pathetic  story. 

"  Why,  he's  outen  there  somewheres  about  now, 
and  I  tell  you,  if  I  had  two  hundred  brave  men,  old 
woman  as  I  am  and  got  no  sense,  I'd  tackle  Quan- 
trell if  it  was  the  last  act  of  my  life." 

This  patriotic  ebullition  brought  forth  several  ex- 
pressions of  "  good  !"  "good!"  from  the  interested 
squad  around  her.  One  of  the  men  thea  asked  the 
old  woman  if  she  knew  anything  about  fighting. 

The  reply  was :  "  Well,  nothing  to  speak  of  except 
what  I  inherited ;  I  used  to  be  purty  lively  with  my 
finger-nails  when  I  was  a  young  gal;  we  used  to 
have  some  high  times,  you  know,  at  corn  huskin's 
and  quiltin's,  and  I've  seed  the  hull  crowd  gouging 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  63 

and  clawing  wuss'n  a  pack  of  wild  cats,  and  I  was 
reckoned  one  of  the  most  vigorous  in  the  pack  too." 

The  crowd  laughed  and  joked  the  old  woman 
about  her  pluck,  and  then  asked  her  if  she  knew  how 
to  handle  a  rifle  or  revolver. 

"  I  used  to  a  leetle,  but  my  eyes  haint  good  any 
more,  and  I  don't  think  I  could  knock  a  squirrel's 
eye  out  from  the  tallest  branches  of  the  big  hicko- 
ries around  here,  any  more,  but  twenty  year  ago  I 
could." 

After  some  further  joking  on  the  old  woman's 
prowess,  she  changed  the  subject  back  to  Quantrell. 

"  Well,  what  I'd  like  to  know  is,  if  the  Federals 
about  here  can't  kill  that  Quantrell  and  his  cut- 
throats, and  save  our  property.  How  many  men 
have  you  got  in  this  here  place,  anyhow,  and  how  are 
you  fixed  for  fighting?" 

The  soldiers  responded :  "  We've  got  nearly  six 
hundred  men  here,  but  then  we  can't  leave  the  place 
to  pursue  Quantrell,  for  if  we  did,  the  Rebs  might 
turn  on  us  and  capture  Independence." 

11  What  good  would  it  do  them  if  they  did  ?  wouldn't 
you  be  doing  better  service  by  killing  the  infernal 
and  thieving  Rebels,  than  by  staying  in  here  doing 
nothing?"  responded  the  old  woman. 

"  Yes,  but  then  you  should  remember,  we  have  a 
large  amount  of  government  stores  here  ;  powder, 
rifles,  provisions,  etc.,  which  might  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  Rebels  if  we  left  them  unprotected,"  was  the 
soldier's  reply. 


64  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  nothing  about  war,"  remarked 
the  old  woman,  "  but  I'd  like  to  be  edecated  on  it  a 
leetle.  This  is  the  first  time  I've  been  in  Indepen- 
dence since  the  troops  took  the  town,  and  I'd  like  to 
see  what  you  all  fight  with  and  how  you  live ;  where 
you  keep  your  prisoners;  how  many  you've  got, and, 
in  short,  jist  how  the  hull  thing  is  done." 

The  soldiers  very  courteously  told  the  old  woman 
where  the  jail  was,  and  that  she  could  go  all  around 
the  place  and  look  at  everything  she  pleased. 

The  road  was  now  clear  to  obtain  what  informa- 
tion was  desired,  and  at  every  point  where  anything 
special  was  needed,  Cole  would  engage  some  soldier 
in  conversation  and  successfully  obtain  full  explana- 
tions. 

About  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  having  made  a 
thorough  inspection  of  every  spot  in  the  town,  Cole 
returned  to  his  horse,  which  he  backed  up  to  the  fence 
and  mounted.  He  rode  slowly  out  of  town  but  upon 
approaching  the  outer  picket  a  sergeant,  seeing  the 
covered  basket  on  Cole's  arm,  and  being  suspicious 
that  it  contained  some  medicine  or  arms  for  the  ene- 
my, as  such  smuggling  was  common,  ordered  the 
picket  to  halt  and  examine  the  old  woman.  Cole 
tried  to  parley  with  the  picket,  but  finding  all  entreat- 
ies vain,  and  knowing  the  results  of  an  investigation, 
instantly  drew  a  pistol  from  beneath  the  folds  of  that 
ancient  dress,  and  ere  the  guard  anticipated  the  move* 
ment  a  ball  went  crashing  through  his  brain.  Cole 
then  threw  his  right  leg  in  proper  position  in  the  sad- 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  65 

die,  gave  his  drowsy  horse  a  jerk,  which  threw  the 
lightning  into  his  heels,  and  away  he  sped  followed 
by  three  mounted  soldiers  who,  however,  were  soon 
distanced,  and  the  daring  spy  reached  Quantrell  and 
Hays  in  safety. 

In  the  gray  of  the  morning  of  August  nth,  1862, 
Hays  and  Quantrell  with  a  combined  force  of  over 
seven  hundred  men,  nearly  all  of  whom  were,  how- 
ever, raw  recruits,  led  by  the  intrepid  Younger,  at- 
tacked the  camp  on  the  west  side  of  town  with  a  cav- 
alry charge.  The  first  picket  was  killed  and  the  Fed- 
erals surprised,  though  they  were  not  demoralized. 
The  roll  was  quickly  beaten,  Col.  Buel  dashed  the 
sound  slumber  of  the  morning  from  his  eye-lids,  and 
the  line  of  battle  was  formed  with  extraordinary 
celerity.  The  guard  fired  on  the  swiftly  approaching 
enemy  and  then  retired  in  good  order  to  the  buildings. 
Nearly  every  picket  was  killed,  but  when  Hays  and 
Quantrell  poured  their  troops  into  the  public  square 
they  met  with  a  reception  little  expected.  From 
every  window  there  were  puffs  of  smoke  and  red 
flames.  Hays  was  compelled  to  dismount  his  men 
and  seek  the  protection  of  walls  and  fences.  He  then 
attacked  the  camp  while  Quantrell  struck  at  Buel 
in  the  houses.  But  he  had  a  force  to  contend  with 
that  was  steel  to  steel.  Hays  carried  the  camp  and 
then  joined  Quantrell  in  the  onslaught  against  the 
building  occupied  by  Buel  and  a  hundred  of  his  men. 
Muskets  and  revolvers  could  not  dislodge  them,  but 
fire  could.    A  farmer's  wagon,  loaded  with  hay,  stood 


66  The  Border  Outlaws. 

in  the  square,  and  this  was  drawn  along-side  of  the 
doomed  building  and  set  on  fire.  The  swift  flames 
shot  upward  and  their  malignant  tongues  soof  licked 
the  cornice  and  roof,  eat  up  the  shingles  and  fastened 
on  the  rafters.  Superhuman  exertions  and  consum- 
mate bravery  could  not  extinguish  fire  guarded  as  it 
was  by  death  dealing  carbines  and  revolvers.  Buel 
fought  like  a  tiger  at  bay  until  the  fierce  heat  scorch- 
ed his  face,  and  to  hold  out  longer  meant  death  too 
terrible  to  meet.  The  white  flag  had  to  be  unrolled 
and  flung  to  the  breeze,  and  Buel,  the  bravest  of  the 
brave,  was  forced  to  capitulate  unconditionally. 

After  the  capture  came  the  pillage.  The  wounded 
were  cared  for,  and  the  dead,  winrows  of  which  lay 
around  the  square,  were  buried,  after  which  all  the 
prisoners  in  the  jail  were  liberated,  the  Federals  pa- 
roled and  the  stores  confiscated.  The  price  of  vic- 
tory and  defense  was  great,  more  than  one  hundred 
Confederates  being  killed  and  wounded,  while  the  loss 
of  the  Federals  was  fifty-seven. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LONE  JACK. 

Jackson  county  had  become  an  active  volcano, 
pouring  down  from  its  sides  searing  lava  and  filling 
every  village,  hillside  and  valley  with  woe.  It  was 
the  fighting  and  recruiting  ground  of  guerrillas,  Con- 
federates and  Union  men,  neighbor  against  neighbor, 
schoolmate  against  schoolmate,  and  war  to  the  knife. 


The   Younger  Brothers,  6y 

Every  rivulet  had  a  bloody  tinge,  every  home  its 
victim. 

Five  days  after  the  capture  of  Independence  came 
the  dreadful  fight  at  Lone  Jack,  a  hamlet  in  Jackson 
county,  twelve  miles  from  Independence,  consisting 
of  two  country  stores,  a  saloon,  blacksmith  shop  and 
a  dozen  other  buildings. 

Col.  Joe  Shelby,  Col.  Ward  Cockrell  and  Col.  John 
T.  Coffee,  each  at  the  head  of  a  few  hundred  men, 
had  come  into  Missouri  from  various  points,  all  with 
the  same  intention,  to  recruit  their  respective  com- 
mands and  then  begin  an  active  campaign  through 
Missouri  and  Arkansas,  and  drive  Gen.  Curtis  out  of 
the  former  State,  who  was  doing  the  Confederate 
cause  much  damage.  The  three  commands  formed 
a  junction  two  miles  north  of  Lone  Jack,  and  went 
into  separate  camps  on  the  evening  of  Friday,  Au- 
gust 15th.  By  a  singular  coincidence  Major  Emory 
Foster,  a  brave  and  able  officer  in  command  of  one 
thousand  Federal  cavalry  and  supported  by  two 
pieces  of  artillery,  entered  Lone  Jack  on  the  same 
night  and  went  into  camp.  Maj.  Foster's  purpose 
was  to  strike  Quantrell,  who  was  located  by  Federal 
spies  in  that  section,  not  for  a  moment  anticipating  a 
meeting  with  a  full  regiment  of  regular  Confederates. 

The  few  residents  Lone  Jack  contained  were  in 
full  sympathy  with  the  South,  and  word  was  speedily 
communicated  to  the  Confederates  of  the  Federal's 
proximity,  their  strength,  equipment,  etc. 

Cockrell  and  Foster  had,  at  one  period   of  their 


68  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

lives,  been  residents  of  Warrensburg,  and  the  former 
knew  that  in  the  fight  which  could  not  be  avoided, 
nothing  but  good  luck  and  brave  men  could  save 
him.  Long  rides  had  jaded  the  Confederates'  horses 
and  a  rest  was  necessary ;  this  was  the  reason  an  at- 
tack was  not  made  during  the  night,  but  this  excuse 
is  hardly  pardonable  under  the  circumstances,  when 
the  advantages  of  attacking  an  enemy,  unconscious 
of  lurking  danger,  are  so  conspicious  and  invaluable 
Quantrell  would  scarcely  have  waited  until  the  camp 
had  become  quiet,  ere  he  would  have  plunged  in, 
heading  a  charge  like  the  mad  dash  of  ocean  break- 
ers and  irresistible  as  the  lightning's  bolt.  But  Quan- 
trell was  not  there,  neither  was  the  intrepid  Shelby, 
for  on  the  morning  preceding  the  battle  he  had  de- 
parted for  Waverly  to  meet  a  force  of  Confederates 
awaiting  him.  But  leading  the  troops  by  platoons 
were  Jackman,  Tracey,  Rathburn,  Hunter,  Bohannon, 
Hays  and  Coffee,  the  latter,  however,  being  too  far  to 
the  south  (where,  with  nearly  two  hundred  men  he 
was  scouting)  to  participate  in  the  fight. 

Col.  Cockrell  had  command,  and  shortly  after  re- 
ceiving the  report  of  the  Federals'  position  he  called 
his  men  to  arms  and  formed  in  line  of  battle  on  the 
main  highway  to  Independence,  one-half  mile  from 
the  enemy's  outposts.  The  line  of  battle  was  main- 
tained for  nearly  an  hour,  when  it  was  decided  to 
break  ranks,  sleep  on  their  arms  and  make  the  attack 
early  in  the  morning.  This  action  of  Col.  Cockrell 
has  been  severely  criticised  by  Confederate  officers, 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  69 

but  criticism  is  no  part  of  faithful  history,  and  com- 
ments and  conclusions  are  therefore  left  for  the 
reader.  Cockrell's  bravery,  it  is  but  proper  to  add, 
never  was  nor  can  it  be  questioned,  for  it  was  thor- 
oughly tested  in  the  battle  of  which  we  write. 

Lone  Jack  lay  sleeping  in  the  prairie,  with  a  corn- 
field and  heavy  hedge  rows  on  the  east  side,  and  a 
growth  of  timber  lined  the  murmuring  brooklet 
which  curved  a  half-circle  of  the  town  on  the  west. 
In  the  place  was  a  two-story  frame  building  called 
the  Cave  House,  an  old-fashioned  country  inn.  This 
house  was  Foster's  headquarters,  and  from  an  upper 
window  floated  the  stars  and  stripes.  The  hamlet 
took  its  name  from  a  large  and  lone  black-jack  tree 
which  stood  like  a  sofitary  sentinel  at  the  apex  of  a 
prairie  knoll,  two  hundred  yards  south  of  the  Cave 
House,  but  like  many  of  those  who  fought  around  its 
trunk  on  the  16th  of  August,  it  is  now  in  the  process 
of  decay. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  Confederate 
bivouac  was  raised  and  the  hurry  and  bustle  of  pre- 
paration for  the  early  battle  was  begun.'  The  horses 
were  placed  in  charge  of  a  guard  of  fifty  men,  and 
the  regiment,  consisting  of  a  few  less  than  one  thou- 
sand men,  was  disposed,  by  orders  of  Col.  Cockrell, 
as  follows :  Jackman,  with  a  force  of  three  hundred, 
was  stationed  near  the  steam  mill  south  of  town; 
Tracey,  with  a  like  number  of  men,  took  up  a  posi- 
tion in  the  cornfield  east  of  town,  while  Bohannon 
stretched  his  line  on  the  south-west  with  instructions 


70  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

to  drive  in  the  pickets  and  the  first  shot  should  be 
the  signal  for  a  combined  movement  and  general  at- 
tack. When  the  positions  were  taken  it  was  not  yet 
day,  but  the  eastern  portals  of  light  were  flecked 
with  an  aureole  of  beautiful  red,  signaling  the  ap- 
proach of  a  cloudless  day. 

It  was  six  o'clock  before  the  quiet  of  early  morn- 
ing was  broken  by  the  signal  gun,  much  unnecessary 
delay  having  occurred,  and  before  the  attack  was  be- 
gun, the  Federals  had  discovered  the  enemy  and 
were  ready  for  the  onset.  When  Tracey's  line  ad- 
vanced rapidly,  expecting  to  meet  a  surprised  foe, 
ere  he  reached  the  limits  of  the  town,  a  raking  fire 
was  poured  into  his  astonished  ranks,  which  caused 
much  confusion,  but  his  men  soon  rallied.  Tracey, 
however,  was  shot  in  the  foot  and  had  to  be  taken 
from  the  field,  but  his  place  was  quickly  filled  by 
Hunter.  Jackman  and  Bohannon  were  slow  in  com- 
ing up,  but  when  they  struck  the  enemy's  flank, 
they  drove  the  Federals  from  the  hedge  rows,  and 
the  fire  from  three  sides  soon  drove  them  into  the 
buildings. 

The  artillery  could  not  be  made  effective  because 
of  the  proximity  of  the  Confederates,  and  the  fire 
which  drove  the  gunners  back  under  shelter,  and  af- 
ter a  most  desperate  and  stubborn  fight  the  guns 
were  captured.  At  this  juncture,  Cole  Younger,  with 
forty  mounted  guerrillas,  hearing  the  fighting,  came 
dashing  into  the  rear  and  reported  to  Col.  Cockrell. 
Cole  was  sent  into  the  action  without  any  delay,  and 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  yi 

the  fighting  grew  hotter.  Maj.  Foster,  seeing  his  ar- 
tillery in  the  hands  of  the  Confederates,  and  being 
planted  beside  the  blacksmith's  shop  where  it  could 
batter  down  his  defences,  rallied  his  forces,  and 
placing  himself  at  the  head  of  three  hundred  men, 
swept  down  upon  the  enemy  with  such  resistless 
fury,  that  the  Confederates  were  forced  to  retreat  and 
permit  the  Federals  to  recover  the  guns.  From  this 
time  Foster  forced  the  fighting  and  the  hand-to-hand 
encounter  in  the  street  became  terrible.  A  hundred 
men  held  the  hotel,  and  from  their  position  did  dread- 
ful execution,  killing  Captains  Bryant  and  Bradley, 
Jand  preventing,  for  a  long  time,  the  approach  of  the 
Confederates  up  the  street.  Something  had  to  bo 
done  and  that  quickly  ;  it  was  either  a  retreat  or  drive 
the  enemy  from  the  hotel.  Cole  Younger  was  the 
first  to  suggest  fire,  but  who  so  rash  as  to  drive 
through  the  fatal  hailstorm  of  bullets  and  apply  the 
torch  ?  The  answer  came  from  the  guerrilla  hero. 
Turpentine  balls  were  a  part  of  the  guerrilla's  equip- 
ment, and  at  the  head  of  a  dozen  men,  ten  feet  apart. 
Cole  rushed  through  the  deadly  volleys  and  flung  the 
burning  balls  in  and  against  the  building,  leaving  half 
his  men  dead  in  the  effort,  but  escaping  himself  un- 
hurt. The  dreadful  scene  before  became  appalling 
now.  The  roar  of  crackling  flames  mingled  with  the 
rattle  of  musketry  and  the  death  cry  ofvictims.  Driven 
from  that  furnace  of  destruction,  the  Federals  poured 
out  of  the  doomed  building,  shooting  as  they  ran, 
but  few  lived  to  find  another  shelter.     Among  the 


72  o. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  73 

slain  was  the  lady  of  the  house,  who  fell,  pierced 
with  a  dozen  balls,  on  the  very  threshold  ;  bullets  are 
no  respecters  of  persons ;  it  was  her  misfortune  and 
the  regrets  of  the  Confederates  could  not  infuse  life 
again  into  that  innocent  and  bleeding  body.  Driven 
from  the  buildings,  the  Federals  fought  with  the 
fierceness  born  of  desperation  ;  the  streets  were  fairly 
choked  with  the  dead  ;  hand  to  hand  and  hilt  to  hilt, 
saber  and  bayonet,  pistol  and  gun,  blood  for  blood, 
and  thus  the  fight  continued  for  more  than  three 
hours.  Younger  was  here,  there,  everywhere ;  the 
keen  crack  of  his  pistol  was  the  cradle  which  har- 
vested death. 

The  fight  progressed  with  the  Federals  giving  way 
inch  by  inch,  and  moving  slowly  southward,  which 
was  now  the  only  by-way  of  escape.  Maj.  Foster 
was  wounded  in  six  different  places,  and  Capt.  Fos- 
ter, his  brother,  shot  to  death ;  still  the  brave  Fed- 
erals would  not  yield  so  long  as  there  remained  a 
fighting  force.  At  noon,  when  the  hot  sun  beat  down 
upon  that  field  of  carnage  and  the  exhausted,  sorely 
stricken  Major  saw  the  bloody  heaps  of  his  fallen 
comrades,  and  the  few  brave  men  of  his  command, 
battling  against  hope,  it  was  only  then  that  he 
yielded,  brave  even  in  the  last  act.  In  this  terrible 
battle  the  Federals  lost  two  hundred  killed  and  more 
than  five  hundred  wounded,  and  the  Confederates 
suffered  a  loss  somewhat  greater.  Two  hundred  of 
Foster's  men  made  their  escape  and  reached  Lexing- 
ton four  days  after  the  fight,  while  those  captured 
were  paroled  and  sent  to  their  homes. 


74  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

ASSASSINATION  OF  COL.  HENRY  W. 
YOUNGER. 

On  the  20th  of  July,  1862,  Coi.  Henry  W. 
Younger,  father  of  the  Younger  Brothers,  was  way- 
laid and  assassinated,  five  miles  from  Independence, 
while  driving  in  his  buggy  towards  Harrisonville. 
He  had  a  large  sum  of  money  on  his  person  at  the 
time,  being  the  proceeds  of  a  sale  of  cattle  made  in 
Independence  the  previous  day.  When  the  body 
was  found,  the  pockets  were  turned  inside  out,  about 
four  hundred  dollars  having  been  taken.  The  assas- 
sins, however,  failed  to  find  the  larger  sum,  several 
thousand  dollars,  which  Mr.  Younger  had  placed  in 
a  belt  he  wore  around  his  body  beneath  his  under- 
clothes. 

Cole  Younger  was  soon  made  acquainted  with  the 
tragic  death  of  his  father  and  at  once  returned  home 
to  be  present  at  the  funeral  services,  regardless  of  the 
danger  encountered  in  so  doing.  It  was  reported 
that  the  assassins  were  Jennison's  Red  Legs,  but  of 
this  there  is  no  proof,  though  Cole  harbored  suspi- 
cions, and  he  never  rested  until  the  last  person  whom 
he  suspected  of  complicity  in  this  crime  was  dead, 
and  his  revengeful  hand  murdered  not  a  few. 

Mrs.  Younger  was  naturally  a  very  delicate  woman 
with  the  hectic  flush  of  consumption  coming  and  go- 
ing in  her  cheeks.  Trouble,  which  laid  its  hand 
heavily  on  her  when  the  eagles  of  war  spread  their 
pinions,  gave  food  to  the  insidious  disease  and  mel- 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  ?$ 

ancholy  marked  her  for  its  own.  Cole  looked  into 
the  dear  eyes  of  his  anguished  mother  and  the  re- 
venge in  his  bosom  was  bent  even  against  nature,  to 
lift  that  dreadful  burden  from  off  her  precious  heart. 
James  and  John  were  almost  ready  to  join  the  banner 
of  the  prairie  vulture,  but  there  were  sisters,  and  her 
whose  support  had  just  been  broken,  needing  protec- 
tion, and  desire  for  revenge  could  not  break  the  seal 
of  duty.  The  property  of  the  family  had  been 
greatly  wasted  by  foraging  parties  of  jayhawkers, 
who  had  come  to  regard  Cole  Younger  as  the  incar- 
nation of  atrocity  and  murder,  and  were  determined 
to  punish  the  family  for  his  crimes.  Not  a  week 
passed  but  the  house  of  Mrs.  Younger  became  the 
objective  point  of  a  squad  of  militia  or  jayhawk- 
ers in  seach  of  Cole.  Indignity  after  indignity 
was  perpetrated  and  the  most  cruel  means  re- 
sorted to  in  the  endeavor  to  extort  information  of 
his  whereabouts.  It  was  thus  the  horrors  of  war  fell 
athwart  the  Younger's  household,  making  the  very 
air  they  breathed  pestilential. 


SKIRMISHES,  AMBUSCADES  AND 
EXECUTIONS. 

In  the  latter  part  of  September,  Quantrell's  forces 
were  called  together  for  the  purpose  of  reorganiza- 
tion. The  policy  of  the  guerrillas  was  to  fight,  dis- 
band and  reorganize ;  cemented  in  their  fellowship 


;6  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

by  oaths  and  obligations,  whether  separated  or  united 
their  hearts  and  arms  were  ever  ready  to  respond  to 
the  needs  of  their  cause.  When  the  winding  horn 
reverberated  through  the  forests  it  was  Quantrell's 
call  to  the  rendezvous,  and  when  the  roll  was  read 
every  name  responded  with  a  cheerful  "  on  duty." 
One  hundred  and  twenty  men,  well  armed  and  mount- 
ed, were  ready  to  begin  active  offensive  operations 
against  militia,  pillage  unguarded  posts,  capture  pro- 
vision trains  and  kill — kill — kill.  The  guerrillas  rode 
out  of  Missouri  to  leave  their  bloody  trail  through 
Kansas,  and  make  reprisals  of  men  and  chattels.  At 
Shawnee  Quantrell  found  a  half-hundred  undrilled 
militia  who  surrendered  to  him  without  firing  a 
shot;  two  miles  below  there,  on  the  route  to  Olathe, 
seven  mounted  men  were  captured,  and  ill  was  the 
hour  of  their  birth,  for  the  decision  was  that  they 
belonged  to  Jennison's  band.  That  decision  meant 
quick  death.  To  his  men,  "  bring  the  ropes  ;"  to  the 
captives,  "  pray,"  were  all  the  words  spoken  by  Quan- 
trell. Among  the  number  was  a  young  man,  only  a 
lad  in  fact,  with  black  eyes  full  of  courage.  He  had 
but  one  request  to  make  :  "  Let  it  be  the  rifle  instead 
of  the  rope,"  and  tire  last  wish  of  his  life  was  granted. 
From  a  broad-reaching  oak  limb  six  bodies  hung  side 
by  side  among  the  dying  autumn  leaves,  and  at  the 
root  of  the  tree  one  face  looked  upward  into  the  un- 
known with  the  stare  of  death  in  his  eyes. 

From  Shawnee  the  guerrillas   sped   on  to  Olathe, 
twenty  miles    further   south,    where    they    captured 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  77 

seventy-five  more  militia,  men  unused  to  war,  who 
never  thought  of  resistance ;  they  performed  the 
part  of  a  sham  battery,  or,  like  sentinels  of  straw,  to 
intimidate  only  by  appearances.  All  these  were  pa- 
roled, and  after  feeding  their  horses  and  appropriat- 
ing needful  provisions,  Quantrell  turned  to  the  east, 
passing  through  Aubrey  and  over  ground  made 
familiar  to  him  by  previous  expeditions. 

Reaching  Cass  county,  in  the  northern  part,  the 
guerrillas  learned  of  a  convoy  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  Federal  cavalry  with  ten  heavily  loaded  wagons 
of  government  stores,  enroute  to  Kansas,  City.  It 
was  the  time  for  an  ambush.  The  pick  and  shovel, 
in  many  expert  hands,  soon  made  convenient  rifle 
pits  along  the  road  and  then,  secreting  their  horses 
back  in  the  woods,  the  guerrillas  patiently  awaited 
the  approach  of  the  cavalry.  Quantrell  was  on  the 
left,  Todd  on  the  right,  and  Younger  in  the  center  of 
the  ambushing  file.  It  was  on  the  2nd  of  October 
when  the  doomed  convoy  came  slowly  up  the  road 
with  the  wagons  in  the  center,  creaking  under  the 
heavy  loads.  On  each  side  of  the  road  there  ap- 
peared nothing  but  the  natural  stillness  of  the  woods. 
For  a  hundred  yards  the  trenches  extended  along  the 
highway  and  the  command  was  given  not  to  fire  until 
the  convoy  had  ridden  abreast  the  complete  line  of  the 
pits.  There  was  breathless  silence,  as  every  man  re- 
solved himself  into  an  engine  of  destruction,  paus- 
ing, like  a  tiger,  before  the  dea|h  spring  on  its  vic- 
tim.    Unconsciously  the  train  wended  slowly  along 


yS  The  Border  Outlazvs. 

over  the  road  of  bloody  fate,  the  men  laughing,  sing- 
ing love  songs,  passing  jokes,  talking  of  loved  ones 
at  home  and  repeating  stories  of  Quantrell's  deeds 
of  murder.  When  the  convoy  came  abreast  of  the 
ambushed  line,  without  a  word  of  warning,  the  gates 
of  hell  seemed  to  open  on  the  left,  and  over  the  sides 
of  the  masked  trenches  poured  a  stream  of  flame, 
smoke  and  lead,  starting  at  the  lower  end  of  the  line 
and  running  its  length,  like  a  trail  of  powder  touched 
by  a  spark.  It  was  a  work  of  murder,  the  surprise 
was  so  complete,  and  as  dead  men  fell  with  the 
autumn  leaves,  fire  was  applied  to  the  wagons,  and 
the  terrors  of  that  seething  hell  were  thus  multiplied. 
More  than  seventy  of  the  Federal  column  lay  in  the 
highway  with  only  heat  from  the  burning  train  left  to 
give  them  burial.  The  rest  of  the  convoy  broke 
with  the  first  fire  and  by  desperate  riding  reached 
Kansas  City. 

The  woods  were  now  resonant  with  the  crack  of 
the  rifle,  and  human  game  was  easily  found  by  the 
opposing  forces.  Every  hillside  was  a  redoubt,  ev- 
ery ravine  a  rifle-pit ;  a  foe  seemed  lurking  behind 
every  tree  and  death  held  his  revel  in  the  border 
counties. 

The  Harrisonville  and  Kansas  City  road  was  a 
principal  highway  along  which  Federals,  Confeder- 
ates and  guerrillas  were  daily  traveling.  The  ample 
preparations  made  at  the  slaughter-pits  were  too  ad- 
vantageous to  be  readily  abandoned,  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  it  was  decided  to  hold  a  second  carnival 


The   Younger  Brothers.  79 

at  the  same  place.  Accordingly,  the  guerrillas  took 
up  a  position  in  the  commodious  trenches,  while  Cole 
younger,  Gregg,  Geo.  Shepherd  and  Scott,  were 
sent  out  to  deploy  down  the  road  and,  if  possible, 
decoy  another  body  of  Federals  inside  the  masked 
dead  line.  Several  hours  elapsed  ere  there  were  any 
indications  of  a  "  find,"  and  the  patience  of  the  anx- 
ious ambuscaders  was  becoming  restless.  Dave  Poole 
rose  up  from  his  sitting  posture  in  the  pits  and  put- 
ting his  hands  behind  his  ears,  to  better  catch  the 
j-ound  waves,  waited  a  moment,  and  then  in  a  low 
voice  asked : 

"  Did  you  hear  that  shot  ?" 

"  No,  from  what  direction?" 

u  A  little  to  the  west,  I  think,"  was  the  reply. 

"  There  !  three  more  in  quick  succession.  Boys, 
they  have  struck  them,  sure  !" 

Poole  and  Quantrell  then  put  their  ears  to  the 
ground. 

"  Look  out,  they  are  coming  on  a  dead  run,  for  1 
can  hear  the  clatter  of  horses'  feet,"  remarked  Quan- 
trell. 

"  Get  ready,  every  man,  it's  a  chase,  for  they  are 
firing  on  the  retreat." 

Sure  enough,  there  was  a  pursuit,  the  sound  of 
horses  feet,  and  the  rattle  of  pistols  and  guns  could 
not  be  mistaken.  On  they  came  at  the  bent  of  their 
speed,  the  pursued,  with  nearly  two  hundred  Federal 
cavalry  thundering  in  their  rear,  not  two  hundred 
yards  behind.     At  the  pits  there  was  a  quick  turn  in 


8oa 


.fltM  LOUNGER  BROTHERS.  Si 

the  road  and,  hidden  for  a  moment  from  the  charg- 
ing cavalry,  the  four  intrepid  decoys  dashed  into  the 
woods  behind  the  trenches,  leaped  from  their  horses 
and  rushed  to  the  slaughter  which  had  now  begun. 
A  sheeted  flame  broke  from  the  pits  as  the  Federals 
breasted  the  line,  and  horses  and  riders  plunged  into 
the  dust,  while  the  air  was  rent  with  cries  of  the 
wounded  and  made  stifling  with  powder  smoke. 

Birt  the  fight  did  not  end  with  the  first  volley,  for, 
although  fifty  saddles  were  emptied,  the  Federals 
quickly  comprehended  the  situation,  and  with  reck- 
less bravery,  dismounted  and  began  an  onslaught  on 
the  works.  Fighting  from  behind  trees,  on  the  flank, 
front  and  rear,  the  carbines  did  dreadful  execution. 
Within  an  hour  the  Federals  were  reinforced  by  Col. 
Hubbard's  Sixth  Missouri  cavalry,  of  three  hundred 
men,  and  then  the  tables  of  death  were  turned  on 
the  guerrillas.  A  desperate  charge  was  hurled 
against  the  entrenched  enemy,  which  swept  up  to  the 
very  muzzles  of  the  guns,  but  a  tornado  of  bullets 
hurled  back  the  column  and  left  the  ground  strewn 
with  dead  men.  Hubbard's  bravery  was  equalled 
only  by  the  fanatic  martyr. 

"To  the  front,  Charge  !"  again  came  the  command, 
and  again  the  blue  line  advanced  with  fixed  bayo- 
nets into  the  very  face  of  the  guerrillas,  but  again  that 
sheet  of  flame  burst  from  the  trenches  and  the 
stricken  Federals  trembled,  then  fell  back  in  confu- 
sion. Charge  after  charge  was  made,  but  each  time 
repelled  by  that  storm-burst  of  leaden  hail.     It  was 


82  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

folly  to  fight  longer  against  such  disadvantages. 
Night  had  approached,  but  the  round,  full  moon  and 
a  star-decked  canopy  lighted  up  the  battle-ground, 
and  Col.  Hubbard,  unwilling  to  give  up  the  contest, 
fell  back  for  the  purpose  of  surrounding  the  guer- 
rillas and  holding  them  until  the  morrow.  His  inten- 
tion was,  however,  anticipated  and  the  ambushers 
drew  off  at  the  first  opportunity,  carrying  their 
wounded  with  them,  and  retreated  into  the  Blue  hills 
where  they  camped  and  rested  for  two  days.  In  this 
engagement  the  Federals  lost  nearly  one  hundred 
killed  and  the  guerrillas  twenty-two,  and  as  many 
more  severely  wounded. 

After  resting  and  receiving  several  new  recruits 
Quantrell  divided  his  men  into  squads  and  sent  them 
in  different  directions  to  harass  the  Federals  and 
confuse  his  pursuers.  Younger,  with  twelve  men, 
took  the  route  toward  Little  Blue,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  he  had  work  for  his  revengeful  hands. 
At  a  bridge,  over  Little  Blue,  the  guerrillas  met  a 
mounted  squad  of  twenty  Federals  and  the  passage 
had  to  be  made  by  one  party  over  the  dead  bodies 
of  the  other.  To  meet  an  enemy  meant  a  furious 
charge  to  Younger,  and  his  tactics  were  put  into 
execution  at  the  bridge.  Giving  the  enemy  no  time 
to  consider,  Younger  shouted  "  to  the  charge/'  and 
at  the  head  of  the  hurricane  he  rode  into  the  ranks 
of  the  Federals,  shouting  and  slashing  like  hunters  in 
a  herd  of  buffalos.  Two  alone  of  the  twenty  es- 
caped, each  because  of  some  favor  shown  Youngei 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  83 

in  earlier  days,  and  not  one  of  the  guerrillas  was 
even  wounded. 

But  fortune  did  not  always  favor  the  fierce  fighters, 
for  the  Federals  multiplied,  and  to  slay  a  detachment 
was  like  killing  flies  in  summer  time,  the  number 
seemed  undiminished.  Pressed  on  every  side,  con- 
fronted in  every  road  and  by-way,  driven  from  every 
shelter,  the  guerrillas  began  to  tire  ;  squad-fighting 
was  too  dangerous,  the  pursuing  forces  of  the  Fed- 
erals too  numerous,  and  Quantrell  again  ordered  a 
meeting  at  the  old  rendezvous  on  the  Sny.  Every 
man  was  there  whose  body  was  intact ;  some  there 
were  in  the  garrets  of  their  friends'  homes,  with 
wounds  like  church  doors ;  others  were  bleaching  in 
public  roads,  in  lonely  ravines,  or  sleeping  in  the 
noisy  woods — noisy  not  with  the  melody  of  plumed 
warblers,  but  the  crack  of  the  carbine  and  clash  of 
the  saber.  Some  came  to  the  trysting,  bleeding  from 
bullet  sores  that  had  not  yet  healed,  and  when  the 
roll  was  called  again  there  were  still  more  than  a 
hundred  names  on  the  list  ready  for  duty. 

Peabody,  Burris,  Hubbard,  Jennison,  Montgomery, 
Anthony  and  a  score  of  others  had  entered  into  a 
war  which  thought  not  of  the  subjugation  of  the 
South,  only  the  annihilation  of  Quantrell  and  his  ter- 
rible band.  On  the  first  day  after  leaving  the  ren- 
dezvous, Quantrell  met  the  foe  ;  with  the  first  dis- 
charge of  pistols  and  bullets  his  enemies  multiplied 
by  a  rush  of  reinforcements.  The  retreat  was  a  run- 
ning fight   through   Jackson,  Cass,  Johnson   and   a 


84  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

dozen  other  counties.  There  was  no  time  to  cook 
or  forage,  except  as  they  gathered  on  the  constant 
watch.  Younger,  Shepherd  and  Gregg  became  the 
reliance  of  Quantrell,  without  these  he  could  have 
done  nothing  but  surrender  or  fight,  and  fighting  die 
with  empty  pistols  in  his  grasp.  These  three  men, 
whose  unparalleled  heroism  was  their  armor,  rode  in 
advance  or  to  the  rear,  wherever  their  services  were 
most  needful,  now  checking  a  pursuit  by  some  clever 
strategy  or  discovering  an  ambush,  gathering  forage 
for  the  horses  and  food  for  the  men,  they  were  the 
fortune  and  succor  of  Quantrell's  army. 

Near  Wellington  the  guerrillas  met  three  score 
Federal  militia  in  the  highway,  and  with  the  first 
sight  came  the  cry  from  Younger  to  "  charge."  The 
retreat  which  the  militia  sounded  only  helped  the 
slaughter.  A  few  fired  at  the  avalanche  and  the  in- 
trepid Scott  was  struck  badly  in  the  thigh,  but  he 
did  not  leave  the  saddle.  On,  on  the  charge  swept, 
and  when  the  contact  became  too  close  for  the  pis- 
tol the  saber  took  its  place ;  cuts  to  the  right,  left, 
and  thrusts  to  the  front,  the  fleeing  ranks  grew  thin- 
ner until  not  a  life  was  spared,  and  strung  along  the 
road  for  four  miles  were  bleeding  corses,  the  only 
product  of  that  retreat. 

Wheeling  to  the  right  to  avoid  a  large  force  of  Fed- 
erals in  the  front,  Quntrell  crossed  streams,  burning 
bridges  behind  him,  breaking  the  trail  by  riding  in 
branches,  and  using  every  precaution  to  elude  pur- 
suit ;  still  he  could  not  rest.     Foes  were  everywhere 


THE    YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  85 

and  no  strategy  could  steer  him  clear  of  destined 
tribulations,  fierce  fights  and  disastrous  results.  Be- 
tween the  Sny  and  Big  Blue,  with  retreat  to  the  rear 
prevented  by  destroyed  bridges,  Quantrell  rode  into 
the  clutches  of  Col.  Burris,  a  brave  Kansas  Federal, 
with  three  hundred  men.  There  was  but  one  way  of 
escape,  and  that  lay  in  a  desperate  fight,  with  the 
chances  three  to  one  against  him.  Desperate  ex- 
tremities can  best  be  met  by  desperate  acts,  and 
Quantrell  was  the  first  to  sound  the  charge  with 
Younger,  Shepherd,  Todd  and  Gregg  in  the  advance. 
Col.  Burris  was  in  the  valley  while  Quantrell  was 
coming  down  the  hillside  in  that  wild,  impetuous, 
running  sweep  so  irresistible  that  when  he  struck  the 
solid  Federal  column  the  momentum  broke  Burris' 
ranks  and  left  a  bloody  gap,  but  at  such  dreadful 
sacrifice  to  the  guerrillas  that  out  of  nearly  one  hun- 
dred two-thirds  of  them  were  killed  and  hardly  a 
man  got  through  without  a  wound.  Quantrell  was 
hit  'in  the  shoulder,  George  Shepherd,  Harrison, 
Todd,  Poole,  Gregg,  and  in  fact  all  the  best  fighters 
except  Younger  were  wounded  more  or  less  severely. 
The  stroke  was  too  heavy  for  the  guerrillas  to  bear 
and  maintain  their  organization,  and  another  total 
disbandment  became  imperative,  every  man  able  to 
ride  selecting  his  own  method  for  escape.  Many  hid 
for  days  in  caves  among  the  bluffs  of  the  Sny,  whilst 
others  moved  like  shadows,  at  night,  through  the 
forests,  and  slept  like  bats  in  the  hollow  of  trees  and 
other  dark  shelters  during  the  day.  It  was  thus  that 
the  campaign  on  the  border  closed  in  1862. 


86  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

THE  SEPARATION  AND  COMBATS  IN 
DIFFERENT  FIELDS. 

Quantrell  with  a  few  followers,  bade  farewell  to 
Cole  Younger  and  started  south  to  join  Shelby  and 
renew  the  campaign  where  the  winds  of  winter  blow 
like  mild  and  cooling  zephyrs,  and  where  pinching 
frosts  never  visit  to  bite  and  wither  the  swee't  smell- 
ing verdure  of  the  evergreens  and  magnolias.  Cole 
Younger  remained  to  scout  and  watch  in  Jackson 
and  Cass  counties.  He  was  not  long  quiet,  for  the 
charm  of  guerrilla  life,  like  the  odors  of  the  poppy, 
lured  him  back  again  into  the  old  paths  consecrated 
by  the  sacrifices  of  direful  war.  Gathering  together 
a  dozen  farmer  boys,  who  had  escaped  the  conscrip- 
tion of  Federals  and  Confederates,  he  first  taught 
them  how  to  ride  and  shoot,  and  appealing  to  their 
softer  sentiments  in  the  inspiriting  words  of  chivalry 
and  patriotism,  made  of  them  knights  of  the  high- 
way exalted  with  an  ambition  to  fight  and  kill.  To 
get  them  into  practice,  Younger  led  them  into  am- 
buscades from  whence  mail  couriers  were  shot,  and 
lone  travelers,  suspected  of  Union  sentiments,  were 
cruelly  massacred.  They  soon  learned  to  smother 
their  conscience,  and  then  to  fight  small  squads 
caught  foraging  on  barns  and  granaries.  The  force 
gradually  grew  larger  until  on  the  first  of  December 
Younger  found  himself  at  the  head  of  twenty-five 
amateur  guerrillas,  which  number  was  further  in- 
creased by  a  union  with  Todd,  who  returned  from 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  87 

the  south  with  fifteen  men.  The  company  was  again 
ready  for  active  service,  though  no  important  engage- 
ments took  place  until  January,  1863. 

The  militia  were  constantly  in  search  of  Younger; 
baffled  in  their  efforts  more  than  a  hundred  times, 
they  became  desperate  and  resorted  to  desperate 
expedients.  A  Federal  force  of  fifty  men  went  to 
the  home  of  the  Youngers,  in  Cass  county,  and  sur- 
rounding the  house  in  which  they  felt  certain  Cole 
was  secreted,  made  a  rush,  and  with  cocked  guns 
and  drawn  swords  were  ready  to. kill  and  quarter 
their  victim.  A  diligent  search  failed  to  discover 
Cole,  but  that  the  long  ride  from  Independence 
might  not  prove  entirely  fruitless,  thre^of  the  Misses 
Younger  were  placed  under  arrest  and  carried  to 
"Kansas  City,  charged  with  aiding  and  concealing 
their  guerrilla  brother.  They  were  confined  in  an 
old  guard  house,  which  being  undermined  by  rats 
and  natural  decay,  during  a  high  wind  was  blown 
down,  and  in  the  fall  two  of  the  sisters  were  killed 
and  the  other  seriously  injured. 

The  arrest  and  death  of  his  sisters  converted  the 
cruel  guerrilla  into  a  veritable  fiend,  and  made  Cole 
Younger  as  voracious  for  blood  as  the  hungry  tiger. 
\Wio  can  say  that  his  revenge,  if  not  entirely  sati- 
ated, was  not  terrible  to  contemplate  ?  but,  to  his 
credit  let  it  be  recorded,  he  never  killed  a  woman. 

About  the  middle  of  December,  Younger  and 
Todd  made  a  trip  into  Kansas  for  the  purpose  of 
collecting  horses  and  fighting  detachments  of  Jenni- 


88  THE  BORDER  OUTLA  WS. 

son's  men,  who  were  reported  as  operating  at  various 
points  in  companies  of  fifty  and  one  hundred. 
Scarcely  had  they  entered  Wyandotte  county,  ten 
miles  from  Little  Santa  Fe,  when  they  met  a  force  of 
jayhawkers,  numbering  sixty,  and  a  fight  was  the  re- 
sult. It  was  on  the  open  prairie,  and  bringing  into 
execution  the  old  tactics  of  the  guerrillas,  a  charge 
was  made,  in  a  swift  run,  with  a  pistol  in  each  hand, 
and  the  bridle-rein  in  their  teeth,  firing  rapidly;  the 
onslaught  was  terrible,  but  the  charge  was.  met  by 
the  jayhawkers  with  a  bold  front  and  steady  aim. 
The  guerrillas  were  beaten  back  and  divided.  Cole 
Younger,  with  a  handful  of  desperate  fighters,  was 
singled  out,  aiftt  the  enemy  literally  rode  him  down, 
wounding  him  and  every  one  of  his  men.  JohnMc 
Dowell  was  struck  hard  in  the  shoulder  and  his  horse 
shot  from  under  him,  holding  his  foot  between  the 
saddle  and  ground.  He  called  to  Younger  for  help, 
and  his  cry  was  not  in  vain,  for,  though  it  seemed 
that  certain  death  followed  a  return,  Younger  called 
on  Todd  to  charge,  and  through  the  driving  hail  of 
bullets,  Cole  rushed  back,  bleeding  as  he  was,  from 
a  flesh  wound  in  the  arm,  and  released  his  comrade, 
lifting  him  into  the  saddle  and  mounting  behind. 
The  fight  continued  furiously  for  about  twenty  min- 
utes, when  the  jayhawkers,  though  holding  their  own, 
were  reinforced  by  another  detachment,  and  then 
Younger  and  Todd  were  driven  precipitately  across* 
the  prairie  and  into  the  woods,  when  superior  riding 
enabled  them  to  escape,  but  not  without  serious  loss. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  89 

The  guerrillas  returned  to  Missouri,  and  at  the 
crossing  of  Big  Blue,  where  the  charred  timbers  of 
the  old  bridge  gave  evidence  of  Quantrell's  visit  and 
line  of  retreat,  they  caught  six  militiamen  and  made 
quick  work  of  them  ;  after  shooting  their  bodies  full 
of  bullets,  a  large  pole  was  cut  and  stretched  across 
the  road,  resting  in  the  forks  of  a  tree  on  each  side. 
The  dead  militiamen  were  then  hung  to  the  pole, 
their  bodies  dangling  over  the  road,  as  a  warning 
that  the  guerrillas  were  on  active  duty  again  in  Jack- 
son county. . 


COLE  YOUNGER'S  ESCAPE  THROUGH  THE 
STRATEGY  OF  A  NEGRO  WOMAN. 

His  first  wound  giving  him  some  trouble,  Cole 
Younger  determined  to  visit  his  mother,  who  needed 
the  comfort  of  her  son  in  the  new  sorrow  which  had 
just  fallen  so  heavily  upon  her  in  the  loss  of  her 
daughters.  Accordingly,  he  left  his  men  in  charge 
of  Todd  and,  unaccompanied,  rode  into  Cass  county, 
reaching  his  home,  under  the  cover  of  night,  on  the 
13th  of  January.  Notwithstanding  the  secrecy  with 
which  he  made  the  visit,  there  were  so  many  spies  on 
his  track,  that,  scarcely  had  he  entered  the  house,  be- 
fore his  presence  became  known  to  the  militia  sta- 
tioned at  Harrisonville.  One  hundred  men  quickly 
surrounded  the  house  and,  conducting  their  move- 
ments  with  much  caution,  they  were  climbing  the 


90  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

fence  before  their  approach  was  suspected.  Cole 
was  in  a  trap,  and  through  his  brain  coursed  the 
events  of  a  life,  forced  by  what  he  believed  was  im- 
pending death.  Hope  for  once  had  entirely  forsaken 
him,  and  he  thought  of  nothing  save  his  pistols, 
which  he  might  empty  in  the  face  of  his  execution- 
ers before  his  arm  became  paralyzed  by  a  fatal  bul- 
let. Living  with  the  Younger  family  was  an  aged 
colored  woman,  who  had  been  a  second  mother  to 
all  the  children  and  whose  love  for  Cole  was  as  warm 
as  ever  mother  gave  her  child.  With  the  intuition 
of  a  woman  in  moments  of  great  peril,  the  old  aunty 
became  equal  to  the  emergency,  and,  with  the  ce- 
lerity of  youth,  she  gathered  a  bed-quilt  and  flung  it 
about  her,  concealing  Cole  beneath  it  and  her 
ample  crinoline.  A  loud  knock  at  the  door  brought 
a  response  from  the  old  colored  woman  who,  in  an 
unexcited  tone  of  voice,  and  with  confidence  in  her 
ability  to  perform  her  strategy  successfully,  asked 
what  was  wanted.  "  Open  the  door  and  we  will  tell 
you,"  came  a  voice  from  the  outside. 

Without  manifesting  any  tripidation,  old  aunty 
opened  wide  the  door,  to  admit  the  heavily  armed 
and  prepared  men,  a  dozen  of  them.  The  night  was 
dark  and  cold,  but  the  honest  face  of  that  aged  col- 
ored savior,  in  the  light  which  shone  from  the  little 
lamp  on  the  table,  gave  no  appearance  of  cunning  or 
suspicion.  Cole's  thoughts,  however,  were  burning 
his  very  brain,  as  he  crouched  under  the  convoluted 
protection  of  the  old  negress'  skirts  and  blanket. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  91 

Where  is  Cole  Younger?  We  know  he  is  in  the 
house,  and  it  would  save  us  time  and  yourselves 
trouble,  if  he  would  deliver  himself  up  to  us,"  said 
the  lieutenant  in  charge  of  the  men  now  in  the  house. 

Edging  herself  up  between  two  chairs,  the  old 
colored  mother,  by  proxy,  responded :  "  Bress  de 
Lawd,  honeys,  Mars'  Cole  haint  been  in  dis  house 
fer  mor'n  six  months;  and  is  it  him  you  want? 
and  the  old  negro  laughed  heartily.  Well,  you 
am  de  warst  mistaken  men  dis  side  ob  Gilhead. 
Mars'  Cole  here !  why,  dat  does  beat  de  Jews  ob 
Jerusalem ;  now,  if  you  can't  beleebe  dis  old  nigger 
jes  look  de  house  ober  an  ef  you  fines  him  you  can 
take  de  wool  offm  my  head." 

Notwithstanding  the  earnest  words  of  aunty  the 
Federals  made  a  search,  and  while  they  were  lifting 
the  feather  beds  and  peering  into  closets,  the  old 
negro  remarked:  "  Well,  I'll  jes  step  on  de  outside 
and  see  who's  aroun'."  Suspicion  never  attaching 
to  the  jolly  old  black  soul,  she  was  enabled  to  make 
her  deception  thorough,  and  though  her  appearance 
was  rather  bulky  about  the  extremities,  darkness  did 
not  reveal  it.  Moving  in  a  straddling  gait,  which 
would  have  been  certain  to  suggest  an  investiga- 
tion had  it  been  day,  the  aunty  and  her  charge 
reached  the  outbuildings,  she  talking  all  the  time  as 
if  anxious  to  engage  some  of  the  Federals  in  con- 
versation, but  in  reality  to  locate  the  outer  line  of  the 
guards.  It  was  a  clear  passage  now,  and  when  they 
reached  a  place  of  safety,  Cole  arose  from  his  cramped 


92  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

position  and  actually  kissed  his  colored  deliverer,  but 
he  had  done  that  a  thousand  times  before,  a  habit 
acquired  in  infancy.  His  horse  was  hitched  back  of 
the  orchard,  two  hundred  yards  from  the  house,  and 
fortunately  the  Federals  had  not  found  it.  Mounting 
quickly  Cole  rode  away  in  the  darkness  for  the  old 
haunts  in  Sny  hills,  which  he  reached  without  further 
adventure. 


CHRISTMAS  FROLIC  IN  KANSAS  CITY. 

Christmas  was  coming  on  apace,  and  as  it  was 
impossible  for  the  guerrillas  to  celebrate  it  while 
surrounded  by  thousands  of  Federals,  Cole  Younger 
decided  to  commemorate  the  day  by  revenging  his 
father's  death.  Although  it  was  never  absolutely 
known  who  composed  the  party  who  so  cruelly  as- 
sassinated Col.  Henry  Younger,  yet  Cole  was  always 
satisfied  that  certain  persons  whom  he  knew  had 
some  connection  with  that  crime.  Among  those 
thus  suspected  was  a  young  lieutenant  named  Wal- 
ley,  whom  Cole  hated  with  a  prejudice  blind  as  re- 
venge. They  had  been  enemies,  in  fact,  since  boy- 
hood; dividing  their  feelings  over  the  smiles  of  a 
school  girl  whose  childish  favors  were  reserved  for 
Cole. 

Kansas  City  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Federals^ 
twenty-five  hundred  strong,  and  every  road  leading 
thence  was  picketed  so  strongly  that  cunning  and 
extraordinary  bravery  could  alone  pierce  the  lines. 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  93 

Through  friendly  sources  Cole  Younger  learned 
that  Walley  and  his  company  were  in  Kansas  City, 
and  would  spend  the  holidays  enjoying  the  good 
things  of  the  place.  He  immediately  formed  a 
plan  to  reach  that  city  and  glut  his  vengeance  on  all 
he  could  find  whom  he  had  believed  participated  in 
the  assassination  of  his  father.  Accordingly  he  com- 
municated with  Todd,  Taylor,  Cunningham,  Traber 
and  Clayton,  of  his  command,  and  acquainted  each 
with  his  daring  scheme.  Each  man  signified  his 
willingness  to  follow  Cole  and  execute  his  orders. 

On  the  23d  of  December,  the  six  guerrillas  clothed 
themselves  in  Federal  cavalry  uniforms  and  set  out 
for  Kansas  City.  They  had  no  difficulty  in  passing 
the  pickets,  as  squads  were  continually  coming  in 
without  the  countersign.  When  they  reached  the 
town,  which  was  after  dark  on  Christmas  eve,  they 
dismounted  in  the  south-east  part  of  the  town  and 
left  their  horses  in  charge  of  Zach  Traber.  The 
five  then  made  an  examination  of  all  the  haunts  of 
the  place  with  the  hope  of  locating  Walley  or  his 
command. 

The  crowded  condition  of  the  saloons,  and  revelry 
in  the  fast  houses  near  the  levee,  gave  the  guerrillas 
an  excellent  opportunity  to  discover  the  place  of 
their  victims.  On  the  south  side  of  the  public  square 
there  were  a  number  of  low  dives  and  gambling 
dens,  which  Cole  and  his  men  did  not  visit  until 
nearly  midnight.  They  entered  one  of  the  saloons 
which  occupied  a  central  position  in  the  block,  and 


94  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

no  sooner  had  Todd's  eyes  taken  an  inventory  of  the 
occupants,  than  he  whispered :  "  Cole,  here  are  six 
of  the  fellows  you  have  been  looking  for  so  anx- 
iously." 

"  So  they  are,"  responded  Cole,  "  I  should  like 
the  privilege  of  killing  them  all  myself." 

"Be  quiet,"  said  Todd,  "  and  let  me  arrange  this 
little  Christmas  frolic;  you  shall  have  your  revenge." 

The  guerrillas  walked  in,  laughing,  and  strode  up 
to  the  bar.  "  Come  up,  gentlemen,  and  have  some- 
thing with  us,"  said  Todd. 

The  six  Federals  were  engaged  in  playing  seven- 
up,  three  being  at  two  different  tables.  They  were 
all  perceptibly  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  and  in 
a  condition  to  speedily  accept  Todd's  invitation. 
After  drinking,  the  Federals  resumed  their  games, 
and  the  guerrillas  went  over  into  a  corner  of  the  sa- 
loon by  themselves,  to  agree  upon  the  plan  of  exe- 
cution. Seated  together,  Todd  was  the  first  to 
speak :  "  We  want  to  do  this  job  scientifically  and 
cause  as  little  excitement  as  possible.  There  are  six 
of  them  and  only  five  of  us,  so  we  will  accord  you 
the  honor,  Cole,  of  killing  two.  Let  the  signal  be  : 
First,  'Let's  have  a  drink.'  When  this  is  said,  we 
will  each  move  up  behind  our  victims  with  pistols 
under  the  capes  of  our  coats.  The  second  word  will 
be  :  '  Who  said  drink  ?'  at  this  every  man  shall  draw 
and  fire,  and  see  to  it  that  we  have  no  misses." 

"That  is  good,"  responded  Cole,  "and  it  shall  be 
carried  out  to  the  letter.     The  point  o'f  the  whole 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  95 

thing,  however,  is  how  to  get  out  and  avoid  arrest ; 
I  think  I  can  plan  that  satisfactorily.  The  moment 
our  pistols  are  discharged  we  will  move  out  of  the 
saloon  together  and,  without  hurry,  separate  and 
mix  with  the  crowd  on  Main  street.  Each  man  will 
then  use  his  own  judgment  in  reaching  Traber  and 
the  horses,  but  every  one  will  be  expected  to  meet 
there  within  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  after  we  leave 
here." 

Everything  was  now  fixed  for  the  terrible  deed. 

"  Let's  have  a  drink  !"  said  Cole  Younger. 

At  this  the  five  guerrillas  arose  and  walked  to- 
ward the  six  doomed  Federals  ;  the  latter  merely 
looked  around  to  see  if  the  invitation  extended  to 
them,  but  nothing  further  being  spoken,  they  re- 
sumed the  game. 

"Who  said  drink?"  came  from  the  lips  of  Todd, 
and  at  the  same  instant  there  was  a  crack  of  pistols, 
only  one  shot  being  fired  out  of  time,  and  the  deed 
was  accomplished.  Six  souls  launched  so  suddenly 
into  eternity !  It  was  a  game  with  Death  in  which 
the  cunning  old  reaper  held  all  the  trumps. 

The  moment  the  shots  were  fired,  the  bar-keeper 
raised  the  alarm,  but  the  guerrillas  stepped  leisurely 
onto  the  sidewalk,  and  from  those  they  met  running 
to  the  scene  the  murderers  eagerly  inquired  the 
cause  of  so  much  excitement.  The  city  was  soon  in 
arms ;  every  soldier  was  called  into  Line,  the  patrols 
sent  out  in  trebled  force,  and  hurried  orders  were  is- 
sued to  arrest  every  man  found  on  the  streets. 


96  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

The  guerrillas  made  their  way  separately,  but 
rapidly,  to  the  spot  where  Traber  was  holding  their 
horses,  and  mounting,  they  rode  swiftly  out  upon  the 
Independence  highway.  To  every  command  "  halt," 
they  replied  with  their  pistols  and,  though  pursued 
and  shot  at,  every  one  of  the  guerrillas  reached  a 
place  of  safety  without  having  received  a  scratch. 


MRS.  YOUNGER  FORCED  TO  FIRE  HER 
OWN  HOME. 

The  wild  fever  of  war,  in  its  desperate  rage,  caused 
the  perpetration  of  such  horrors,  that  a  reference  to 
them  makes  the  heart  grow  sick.  But  in  all  the  in- 
tense agony  suffered  by  so  many  thousands,  whose 
ill  fortunes  threw  them  across  the  pathway  of  that 
demon  of  slaughter,  none  were  more  bitterly  visited 
with  sorrow,  than  Mrs.  Younger,  and  the  hand  bf  af- 
fliction, which  was  laid  upon  her,  was  never  raised 
until  it  banked  the  earth  over  her  grave. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  great  sectional  conflict, 
her  devoted  husband  was  sacrificed  upon  the  altar  of 
desperate  passion  and  remorseless  greed.  The  main 
support  of  the  stricken  family  she  then  saw  leave  the 
desolated  roof  and  creep  out  into  a  very  wilderness 
of  devastation,  where,  instead  of  the  sweet  cry  of 
song-birds,  there  was  the  shrill  whistle  of  death,  and 
the  soughing  trees  became  funeral  dirges.  But  these 
were  but  initiatory  sorrows,  preparing  the  way  f®r 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  97 

advanced  degrees  of  intensified  distress.  She  was 
doomed  to  receive  the  mangled  forms  of  three  loving 
daughters,  their  fair  faces  and  bodies  torn  to  death 
by  the  falling  timbers  of  their  demolished  prison. 
Still  her  afflictions  grew  on  apace.  A  brutal  soldiery 
learned  what  she  had  given  up  in  the  mad  fury  of 
war,  and  then  they  added  persecutions  to  her  other 
griefs.  The  boys  left  to  comfort  her,  were  hunted, 
although  they  had  committed  no  crime ;  John  was 
hung  and  James  chased  at  the  point  of  the  merciless 
bayonet  into  the  fastnesses  of  the  bluffs ;  her  har- 
vests were  confiscated  and  at  last  she  was  forced  to 
flee  into  Cass  county,  with  the  accumulations  of 
honest  labor  dissipated  like  the  winds.  But  she 
found  no  rest  in  her  new  abode ;  the  brutal  instincts 
of  her  persecutors  followed  her  like  a  hound,  snuff- 
ing blood,  pursues  the  wounded  deer.  Here,  in  a 
little  home,  without  either  the  power  or  disposition 
to  avenge  the  cruelties  she  had  so  long  suffered,  a 
party  of  twenty-two  Federals  appeared  suddenly,  on 
the  9th  of  February,  1863,  and  commanded  her  to 
tell  the  hiding-place  of  her  son  Coleman  ;  she  did  not 
know,  and  had  she  known,  what  mother  would  have 
betrayed  her  own  boy  ?  Threats  accomplishing  noth- 
ing, this  brave  squad,  with  cocked  and  pointed  car- 
bines, compelled  Mrs.  Younger  to  set  fire  to  her  own 
house  and  she  was  then  held  a  captive  until  the  last 
timber  was  consumed.  There  was  a  deep  snow  on  the 
ground  at  the  time,  and  through  this  the  poor  woman 
trudged  three  miles  to  a  neighbor's  house  for  shelter, 
7 


98  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

Some  time  after  the  burning  of  her  house,  Mrs. 
Younger  removed  to  the  home  of  her  brother-in- 
law,  Lycurgas  Jones,  in  Clay  county. 

Stung  to  desperation  by  such  persecutions,  James 
Younger,  though  only  fifteen  years  of  age,  joined 
Quantrell,  with  the  ho*pe  of  being  able  to  avenge  his 
mother's  wrongs.  But  this  only  resulted  in  addi- 
tional sorrow,  for,  in  the  following  year,  James  was 
captured  at  the  fight  in  Kentucky,  where  Quantrell 
met  his  death,  and  was  confined  in  the  military  prison 
at  Alton,  Illinois,  until  June,  1866. 

The  exposure  and  dreadful  suffering  Mrs.  Younger 
had  endured  for  more  than  two  years  completely 
wrecked  her  health,  and  she  fell  a  prey  to  that  in- 
sidious monster,  consumption.  Cole  went  to  Texas, 
after  the  war,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  his  mother 
another  home,  but  she  was  too  feeble  for  removal, 
and  the  closing  scene  of  her  latterly  wretched  life 
occurred  on  the  10th  of  May,  1870. 


A  BITTER  WINTER  AND  PERSISTENT 
SKIRMISHING. 

The  winter  of  1862-3  will  exist  in  chronology  as 
one  of  the  most  bitterly  cold  periods  of  history. 
Everything  was  literally  frozen  up,  and  north^of  the 
Mason  and  Dixon  line  the  militia  lay  in  enforced  in- 
activity. Cole  Younger,  with  forty  of  his  men,  hi- 
bernated   in    the  Sny   hills   with    "  dug  outs "    for 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS. 


99 


protection.  These  buildings  consisted  of  an  exca- 
vation in  the  ground,  covered  with  ridge-pole  and 
brush  supporting  a  layer  of  earth.  Here  the  month 
of  January  was  spent,  predatory  incursions  being 
made  every  few  days  for  forage  and  provisions;  but 
in  February  the  weather  moderated  to  such  an  extent 
as  permitted  the  guerrillas  to  resume  operations. 
Quantrell  visited  Richmond  and  applied  for  a  com- 
mission, which  the  Confederate  Secretary  of  War 
refused  on  account  of  the  reputation  the  renowned 
guerrilla  had  acquired  by  his  merciless  warfare. 
Upon  his  return  to  camp  offensive  measures  were 
renewed. 

On  the  8th  of  February,  Cole  Younger  and  his 
command  fell  on  thirty  Federal  cavalrymen  under 
Lieutenant  Jefferson,  three  miles  west  of  Pleasant 
Hill.  The  fight  was  a  terrible  one,  notwithstanding 
the  superior  force  of  the  guerrillas.  Younger  led 
the  attack  and  struck  the  Federals  furiously,  but 
Jefferson  proved  a  hero  and  stemmed  the  onslaught 
so  bravely  that  the  guerrillas  were  checked,  but  only 
for  a  moment,  when  Bill  Hulse,  one  of  the  best  car- 
bine shots  in  the  service,  shot  the  heroic  lieutenant 
and  the  impetuous  charge  which  followed  swooped 
up  and  swept  out  into  eternity  all  but  four  of  the 
Federals,  who  escaped  by  superior  horsemanship. 
The  guerrillas'  loss  was  only  five  men. 

It  was  this  year,  1863,  which  gave  to  the  war  Bill 
Anderson,  a  name  clustering  with  terrors  like  Medu- 
sa's head,  and  Frank  and  Jesse  James  threw  off  their 


ioo  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

youth  and  leaped  into  the  dreadful  vortex  of  battle 
and  slaughter. 

Long  fighting  with  no  source  from  whence  to  re- 
cruit, gradually  reduced  the  guerrillas,  and  their 
policy  was  changed  from  attacking  superior  forces  to 
waylaying  squads,  shooting  pickets,  capturing  mail 
couriers,  and  harassing  the  enemy  without  exposing 
themselves.  The  unmerciful,  inhuman  cruelties  per- 
petrated by  the  guerrillas  during  this  year  can  never 
be  measured.  Anderson  taught  his  men  that  mercy 
wa.s  unmanly,  that  compassion  was  a  crime  in  the 
eyes  of  heaven.  Meeting  non-combatants,  couriers, 
or  furloughed  militia,  it  was  an  inflexible  rule  to  kill 
them ;  every  cross-path  had  its  victim,  and  the  high- 
ways were  fairly  drunk  with  blood. 

Near  Westport,  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  Jarrette 
and  Gregg,  with  ten  men,  approached  an  old-time 
country  tavern  kept  by  a  good-natured  old  man 
named  Hudson.  It  was  after  dark,  and  Gregg  was 
the  one  to  raise  the  landlord. 

"  Hello  1 "  shouted  the  stern  guerrilla. 

Old  man  Hudson  got  up  and  appeared  at  the  door 
in  his  night-gown.  "  Hello  !  "  responded  the  land- 
lord. 

"  We  want  to  stay  all  night,  old  man,  and  being 
very  tired  and  hungry  we  would  like  some  supper," 
spoke  Gregg. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,"  replied  Mr.  Hudson,  "  I  can 
have  some  supper  set  for  you,  but  I  am  very  sorry 
to  say  that  every  bed  in  my  house  >is  occupied,  and 
even  the  barn  loft  is  full." 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  101 

At  this  the  guerrillas  passed  around  the  house  and 
soon  found  that  the  old  man  was  entertaining  a  dozen 
Federal  cavalrymen.  Proceeding  cautiously,  four  of 
them  climbed  up  into  the  stable  loft  and  there  found 
three  sleeping  Federals.  It  was  the  work  6f  a  mo- 
ment to  cut  their  throats  and  consummate  the  dread- 
ful deed  before  an  alarm  was  given.  The  guerrillas 
then  went  to  the  house,  and  being  admitted,  they 
seized  old  man  Hudson  and  cut  his  throat,  after  which 
they  found  their  victims  sleeping  soundly,  and  like 
cattle  led  to  the  slaughter  every  Federal  in  the  house 
was  mercilessly  murdered  and  left  in  that  dreamless 
sleep,  flooded  with  their  own  blood.  What  a  direful 
sight,  and  what  anguish  was  that  which  fell  upon  the 
family  of  that  hospitable  old  man!  Alone  in  their 
solitary  habitation  with  none  for  company  save  the 
now  bloodless  corses  of  father,  husband  and  twelve 
clothed  in  the  uniforms  which  proved  their  funeral 
cerements.  Added  to  this  the  torch  was  applied 
with  the  double  hope  of  hiding  the  crime  and  de- 
stroying that  whereby  the  others  left  of  that  house- 
hold lived.  It  is  proper  to  state  here,  however,  that 
Cole  Younger  had  no  connection  whatever  with  this 
infamous  outrage,  and  that  he  condemned  the  perpe- 
trators as  violently  as  human  being  could. 

Following  fast  upon  this  massacre  came  many 
others.  Bill  Anderson,  the  prairie  vulture,  was  in 
the  saddle  and  killing  defenceless  men  everywhere. 
He  neither  asked  for  quarter  nor  gave  any ;  his  mis- 
sion  was   to   slay  and    spare  not.     No    ropes  were 


102  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

required,  the  pistol  was  quicker,  or  the  knife  more 
certain.  Near  Olathe  Anderson  struck  a  squad  of 
infantry,  and  by  surprising  them  put  to  death 
every  one.  Two  days  afterward  he  came  upon 
twelve  men  driving  wagons  loaded  with  corn ;  they 
were  not  told  to  pray,  nor  would  time  have  been 
given  had  they  asked  it;  twelve  men  tumbled  Off 
their  wagons  and  fell  in  the  roadway  with  pistol 
balls  in  their  heads.  The  corn  and  wagons  were 
burned  and  the  horses  appropriated. 

But  the  killing  was  not  all  on  the  side  of  the  guer- 
rillas; the  Federals  adopted  a  similar  mode  of  war- 
fare and  the  policy  was  to  kill  man  for  man.  Philip 
Bucher  was  shot  at  his  home  in  Westport  by  order  of 
Maj.  Ransom,  the  wife  of  the  doomed  man  clinging 
to  his  neck  begging  for  his  life.  Henry  Rout  was 
hung  in  plain  view  of  his  house ;  and  then  the  shoot- 
ing and  hanging  continued  without  the  straining  of 
mercy  even  by  either  side. 

The  execution  of  men,  and  women  too,  had  be- 
come so  common  that  both  sides  seemed  to  vie  with 
each  other  in  the  demonstration  of  their  brutal  in- 
stincts. It  was  this  unmerciful  warfare  which  led  at 
last  to  the  holocaust  at  Lawrence.  More  than  three 
hundred  rnen  had  been  gathered  together  by  Quan- 
trell  for  the  express  purpose  of  desolating  that  town 
and  capturing  the  vast  wealth  known  to  be  accumu- 
lated there.  That  the  acquisition  of  this  treasure 
was  the  prime  object  of  the  attack,  was  frankly  ad- 
mitted to  the  writer  by  one  of  the  chief  participants 
in  that  matchless  raid. 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  103 

It  was  on  the  21st  of  August,  1863,  that  the  chief  of 
evil,  Quantrell,  descended  upon  that  peaceful  Kansas 
tewn,  and  with  pistol,  sword  and  torch  massacred 
the  defenceless  inhabitants,  plundered  homes,  banks 
and  stores,  filled  the  streets  with  blood,  and  then  to 
complete  the  desolation  applied  the  fire  brands  until 
the  streets  blended  with  the  buildings  in  one  vast 
block  of  lurid  flames.  The  very  soul  grows  sick  at 
the  contemplation  of  such  infamies,  such  crimes  as 
pollute  the  very  name  of  humanity,  and  make  us 
almost  wish  we  were  not  men,  to  have  to  bear  the 
odium  which  such  dreadful  deeds  imposes  on  our  race. 

After  the  terrible  work  was  completed,  Quantrell, 
gathering  all  the  money  and  valuables  he  could  se- 
cure, turned  his  face  again  towards  Missouri ;  but  the 
return  march  was  accompanied  by  hardships  scarcely 
anticipated;  the  militia  swarmed  on  his  trail  and 
struck  him  right  and  left ;  his  columns  were  broken 
and  scattered ;  not  a  moment  for  rest  was  permitted, 
and  he  gained  Missouri  only  by  separating  and  let- 
ting each  man  look  to  his  own  safety.  Many  of  the 
guerrillas  never  returned  to  their  homes  again,  for  in 
the  continued  retreat  and  fighting,  more  than  a  score 
were  left  dead  on  the  prairies.  When  the  guerrillas 
left  Lawrence,  they  carried  with  them  money  and 
valuables  estimated  at  #3,000,000 ;  this  is  the  sum 
fixed  by  George  Shepherd,  but  they  reached  Mis- 
souri with  less  than  one-half  that  amount,  the  bal- 
ance being  lost,  in  the  retreat,  out  of  saddle  bags, 
sacks,  etc.,  in  which  the  treasure  was  carried,  and  on 
the  persons  of  those  killed. 


•otoi 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  to$ 

After  Lawrence  came  the  famous  order  of  Gen. 
Ewing,  requiring  all  the  men  in  Bates,  Vernon  and 
Cass  counties  to  abandon  their  property  and  report 
at  once  to  the  nearest  military  headquarters  for  ser- 
vice. The  force  of  Federals  increased  rapidly 
through  the  instrumentality  of  this  order,  and  Quan- 
trell  found  himself  in  desperate  quarters,  day  and 
night.  The  warfare  became  even  more  cruel  than 
before  ;  revenge  was  not  satisfied  by  the  mere  killing, 
but  extended  frequently  to  the  mutilation  of  the  vic- 
tims. Squads  were  massacred  almost  daily,  and  life 
went  for  naught  wherever  found. 

The  days  of  the  guerrillas  were  numbering  fast ; 
one  by  one  they  were  shot  out  of  the  ranks,  and 
gradually  Quantrell  felt  the  Federals,  like  the  folds 
of  the  constrictor,  gathering  around  him  with  more 
certain  grip  to  crush  his  life  out.  On  the  iotll  Oi' 
September,  three  weeks  after  Lawrence,  the  now 
straggling  band  was  called  together,  and  being 
clothed  in  the  uniform  of  Federals,  marched  away 
from  the  old  haunts  to  the  South.  On  that  march 
Quantrell  had  a  brush  at  Baxter  Springs,  and  drew 
off  on  account  of  superior  forces;  but,  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  he  met  Gen.  Blunt  with  two  hundred  men, 
and  being  disguised,  the  guerrillas  had  an  advantage 
which  they  made  the  most  of,  riding  upon  the  unsus- 
pecting Federals  and  putting  them  to  rout  with  se- 
vere loss. 

Lieutenant  Cole  Younger  reported  to  Gen.  E. 
Kirby  Smith  and,  with  a  company  of  fifty  men,  went 


106  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

into  quarters  at  Bastrop,  Louisiana.  In  the  spring 
of  1864,  he  co-operated  with  a  large  force  and  did 
effective  service  for  the  Confederates  in  attacking 
small  convoys  and  capturing  supply  trains. 

In  the'early  part  of  1865,  Cole  Younger  was  com- 
missioned by  the  Confederate  Secretary  of  War,  to 
recruit  a  regiment  in  California.  He  took  a  small 
squad  of  men  with  him  and  on  the  route  encountered 
some  bands  of  Apache  Indians,  with  whom  he  had 
several  severe  fights,  losing  half  his  men.  When 
Lee  surrendered,  Cole  was  at  Los  Angeles'and,  tak- 
ing that  act  as  a  final  culmination  of  the  war,  he  re- 
mained in  California  for  several  months,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Texas. 

James  Younger  joined  the  guerrillas  in  1864,  and 
was  one  of  the  command  under  Lieutenant  George 
Shepherd.  He  was  a  brave  soldier,  and  like  Cole, 
preserved  his  honor  by  ever  refusing  to  ill-treat  a 
prisoner  or  commit  a  wrong  on  a  woman ;  both  boys 
defended  and  assisted  females,  regardless  of  circum- 
stances, and  their  generosity  and  mercy  is  gratefully 
remembered  by  hundreds  to-day,  whose  lives  were 
spared  and  property  saved,  by  the  intercession  of 
the  Youngers. 

The  history  and  remarkable  adventures  of  the 
Younger  Brothers  since  the  war,  will  be  found  narra- 
ted in  chronological  order  in  the  succeeding  chapters. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  107 

PROGRESS  OF  CRIMES  WHICH  THE  WAR 
INAUGURATED. 

The  evils  begotten  by  intestine  wars,  like  those  of 
a  seductive  habit,  increase  by  gradual  insinuation 
until  normal  human  nature  is  masked  by  a  decision 
of  character,  whose  prominent  propensity  is  always 
evil.  The  bivouac  on  the  field,  the  ambuscade,  and 
the  battle,  with  all  its  horrors  of  soul-sickening  car- 
nage, do  not  represent  the  product  of  these  multi- 
plied scourges  of  human  life;  they  are  often  but  the 
prelude  to  more  desperate  tragedies.  The  most  sen- 
timental heart  becomes  calloused  by  contact  with 
cruelties,  and  in  the  mellow  days  of  innocence,  the 
eye  that  would  veil  itself  with  the  tears  of  compas- 
sion at  the  slightest  object  of  suffering,  may  become 
so  familiarized  with  the  sight  o/'  crime,  that  at  last, 
with  clear  and  steel-cold  vision,  it  springs  to  the  aid 
of  the  hand  that  plunges  a  fatal  dagger  through  the 
most  guiltless  heart.  This  is  one  of  the  consequen- 
ces of  civil  war.  When  the  g§?at  armies  of  the  two 
estranged  sections  folded  away  their  tents,  replaced 
their  weapons  in  the  armories  of  the  nation,  and  re- 
turned to  the  maize  fields,  that  had  grown  tangled 
with  the  briers  and  growth  which  neglect  cultivates, 
there  were  those  in  whose  ears  the  tocsin  of  war 
echoed,  like  fresh  peals,  and  those  refused  to  aban- 
don an  occupation  of  pillage  and  destruction,  made 
congenial  by  long  pursuit.      It  was  the  guerrilla  and 


108  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

jayhawker  during  the  great  conflict,  who  now  created 
new  fields  of  operations,  and  carved  a  highway  to 
the  scenes  of  fatal  greed  and  bitter  vengeance. 
Among  this  class,  over  whose  head  no  longer  floated 
a  banner  as  an  emblem  of  their  principles,  were  the 
Younger  Brothers.  John  and  James  had  not  reached 
a  mature  age,  when  the  antipodal  war  closed  its  hor- 
rors and  was  hidden  away  under  the  sweet  canopy 
of  peace,  but  they  had  matured  the  wayward  hopes 
of  border  heroism,  and  when  the  new  time,  or  after- 
math of  unlawful  cruelties,  was  at  hand,  they  joined 
their  fortunes  with  those  over  whose  persons  there 
was  no  protecting  panoply,  and  boldly  took  the  step 
which,  soon  after,  made  them  hunted  outlaws. 


THE  TERRIBLE  "BLACK  OATH." 

In  the  early  organizations  of  the  guerrillas,  Quan- 
trell,  whose  shrewdness  and  military  tact,  find  few 
parallels  in  history,  adopted  a  measure  which,  though 
terrible  in  some  of  its«  aspects,  was  like  a  salvation 
clause  in  his  desperate  warfare,  and  saved  him  and 
his  band  from  extermination  more  than  a  hundred 
times.  Quantrell  would  have  been  a  Union  man, 
so  some  of  his  comrades  declare,  but  for  the  murder 
of  his  brother  and  almost  fatal  wounding  of  himself 
by  a  company  of  jayhawkers,  in  1856,  as  he  was 
traveling  overland  through  Kansas  for  California. 
After  Quantrell  recovered  from  his  deep  and  dread- 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  109 

ful  wounds,  thenceforth  he  sought  for  nothing  except 
revenge ;  his  life  he  never  cast  up  in  the  reckoning 
of  his  adventure,  and  extremities  he  cared  nothing 
for.  When  men  were  enlisted  under  his  command, 
by  a  magnetic  power  for  dissipating  fear  and  hero- 
izing  the  lovers  of  unmerciful  warfare,  he  taught 
them  how  to  play  with  dead  men,  and  crave  the 
most  daring  and  hazardous  undertakings.  As  a  cap- 
sheaf  of  his  instructions  he  invented  the  "  Black 
Oath,"  black  being  the  color  he  admired,  because  it 
suggested  danger  and  death.  It  was  never  adminis- 
tered except  after  night,  when  the  stars  were  faded 
and  the  sky  hung  heavy  with  ominous  clouds ;  or, 
when  nature  refused  to  lend  her  stygian  curtain  to 
such  a  drama,  those  qualified  to  administer  the  obli- 
gation repaired  to  the  deepest  shades,  with  the  can- 
didates, and  there  imposed  the  ceremonies.  The 
oath  was  as  follows : 

"  The  purpose  of. war  is  to  kill !  God  himself  has  made  it 
honorable,  in  the  defence  of  principles,  for  did  he  not  cast 
Lucifer  out  of  heaven,  and  relegate  rebellious  angels  to 
the  shades  of  hell !  The  love  of  life  cannot  be  measured, 
under  two  conditions :  one  is,  when  our  surroundings  are 
happy  and  our  attachments  numerous ;  the  other  is,  when 
our  liberties  are  subjugated,  peace  destroyed,  and  every- 
thing we  hold  most  dear  torn  from  us,  until  we  realize  that 
contentment,  love,  hope,  have  forever  vanished.  We  fight 
that  the  former  condition  may  be  regained,  and  we  fight 
because  the  latter  leaves  us  no  other  occupation. 

"  You  have  voluntarily  signified  a  desire  to  cast  your 
fortunes  with  us  ;  by  so  doing  remember  that  our  purpose 
is  to  tear  down,  lay  waste,  despoil  and  kill  our  enemies ; 
mercy  belongs  to  sycophants  and  emasculated  soldiers,  it  is 


1 10  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

no  part  of  a  fighter's  outfit ;  to  us  it  is  but  a  vision  repug- 
nant to  our  obligations  and  our  practices.  We  recognize 
but  one  power  to  separate  us  in  the  hour  of  peril,  and  to 
succor  one  another  at  all  hazards,  we  have  pledged  our- 
selves more  sacredly,  and  are  bound  by  ties  much  stronger 
than  honor  can  impose.  With  this  understanding  of  what 
will  be  required  of  you,  are  you  willing  to  proceed  ?  [The 
candidate  assenting,  the  following  oath  is  administered,  be- 
ing repeated  by  the  candidate  as  the  initiatory  officer  speaks 
it  slowly  by  broken  sentences:] 

"  In  the  name  of  God  and  Devil,  the  one  to  punish  and  the 
other  to  reward,  and  by  the  powers  of  light  and  darkness, 
good  and  evil,  here,  under  the  black  arch  of  heaven's 
avenging  symbol,  I  pledge  and  consecrate  my  heart,  my 
brain,  my  body,  and  my  limbs,  and  swear  by  all  the  powers 
of  hell  and  heaven  to  devote  my  life  to  obedience  to  my 
superiors  ;  that  no  danger  or  peril  shall  deter  me  from  exe- 
cuting their  orders  ;  that  I  will  exert  every  possible  means 
in  my  power  for  the  extermination  of  Federals,  jayhawkers, 
and  their  abettors ;  that  in  fighting  those  whose  serpent 
trail  has  winnowed  the  fair  fields  and  possessions  of  our 
allies  and  sympathizers,  I  will  show  no  mercy,  but  strike, 
with  an  avenging  arm,  so  long  as  breath  remains. 

"  I  further  pledge  my  heart,  my  brain,  my  body,  and  my 
limbs,  never  to  betray  a  comrade  ;  that  I  will  submit  to  all 
the  tortures  cunning  mankind  can  inflict,  and  suffer  the 
most  horrible  death,  rather  than  reveal  a  single  secret  of 
this  organization,  or  a  single  word  of  this,  my  oath. 

"  I  further  pledge  my  heart,  my  brain,  my  body,  and  my 
limbs,  never  to  forsake  a  comrade  when  there  is  hope,  even 
at  the  risk  of  great  peril,  of  saving  him  from  falling  into  the 
hands  of  our  enemies ;  that  I  will  sustain  Quantrell's  guer- 
rillas with  my  might  and  defend  them  with  my  blood,  and, 
if  need  be,  die  with  them  ;  in  every  extremity  I  will  never 
withhold  my  aid,  nor  abandon  the  cause  with  which  I  now 
cast  my  fortunes,  my  honor  and  my  life.  Before  violating 
a  single  clause  or  implied  pledge  of  this  obligation,  I  will 
pray  to  an  avenging  God  and  an  unmerciful  devil  to  tear 


THE  YO  UNGER  BR  O  T1IERS.  1 1 1 

out  my  heart  and  roast  it  over  flames  of  sulphur;  that  my 
head  may  be  split  open  and  my  brains  scattered  over  the 
earth ;  that  my  body  may  be  ripped  up  and  my  bowels  torn 
'out  and  fed  to  carrion  birds ;  that  each  of  my  limbs  may ' 
be  broken  with  stones,  and  then  cut  off,  by  inches,  that  they 
may  feed  the  foulest  birds  of  the  air ;  and  lastly,  may  my 
soul  be  given  unto  torment,  that  it  may  be  submerged  in 
melted  metal  and  be  stifled  by  the  fumes  of  hell,  and  may 
this  punishment  be  meeted  out  to  me  through  all  eternity, 
in  the  name  of  God  and  devil,  Amen." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  oath,  the  candidate  was 
turned  successively  to  the  east,  west,  north  and 
south,  while  four  men,  clothed  in  red  and  black  suits, 
and  wearing  hideous  masks,  representing  the  devil, 
drew  their  long,  keen  swords  and  presented  them  at 
the  newly-made  guerrilla,  one  pointing  at  his  heart, 
another  at  the  head,  another  at  the  abdomen  and  the 
other  shifting  his  weapon  from  the  arms  and  feet. 

This  completed  the  ceremony  and  thenceforth  the 
accepted  comrade  went  forth  on  his  mission  of  mas- 
sacre. 


THE  FIRST  BANK  ROBBERY— AT 
LIBERTY,  MISSOURI. 

The  war  had  made  the  guerrillas  expert  in  massa- 
creing  repugnant  citizens,  and  in  appropriating  the 
property  of  their  victims.  Many  of  the  old  crowd 
were  banded  together  by  the  sinews  of  the  "black 
oath,"  and  scarcely  had  the  smoke  of  battle  been 
lifted  up   and  assimilated  with   the  refreshing  dew 


1 1 2  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

clouds  of  heaven  before  plans  were  matured  for  the 
robbing  of  country  banks. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1866,  the  sheriff  of  Harri- 
son county  attempted  to  execute  a  capias  for  the  ar- 
rest of  Bill  Reynolds,  in  Pleasant  Hill,  who  was 
under  indictment  for  crimes  committed  during  the 
war.  Geo.  Maddox  and  N.  P.  Hayes  were  in  town 
at  the  time,  and  as  the  three  were  members  of  the 
same  organization,  resistance  to  the  officer  was  made. 
It  became  necessary  for  the  sheriff  to  summon  a  posse 
of  citizens  to  his  assistance.  A  fight  in  the  opei 
street  then  ensued,  ending  in  the  death  of  Reynolds 
and  Hayes  and  the  capture  of  Maddox.  Threats  of 
an  attack  on  the  town  by  guerrillas  were  rumored, 
and  for  several  days  nearly  every  male  citizen  was 
bearing  arms  in  anticipation  of  an  attempt  being 
made  to  liberate  Maddox. 

The  excitement  was  unabated  in  Pleasant  Hill  un- 
til the  T4th  of  February,  when  the  robbery  of  the 
Clay  County  Savings  Association  at  Liberty,  Mis- 
souri, was  reported.  The  reason  why  rumors  were 
so  persistently  circulated  of  an  intended  attempt  to 
deliver  Maddox,  was  now  clearly  understood  to  be 
for  the  purpose  of  making  the  surprise  on  Liberty 
more  complete.  Early  in  the  morning  of  St.  Valen- 
tine's day,  a  squad  of  the  old  guerrillas,  numbering 
an  even  dozen,  rode  into  Liberty  from  different  direc- 
tions and  meeting  in  the  public  square  they  disposed 
themselves  as  follows :  three  of  the  robbers  were 
stationed  some  distance  from  the  bank  at  eligible  po- 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  HJ 

sitions,  which  would  most  readily  detect  any  central- 
izing attack  or  suspicious  movement  of  the  citizens ; 
the  other  nine  rode  directly  up  to  the  front  of  the 
bank,  where  two  of  the  number  dismounted  and  en- 
tered with  drawn  revolvers.  The  hour  being  early, 
luckily  for  the  bandits  there  was  no  one  in  the  bank 
except  the  cashier,  Mr.  Bird,  and  his  son.  A  pistol 
was  presented  at  the  head  of  each,  and  under  threats 
of  instant  death  in  case  of  refusal,  Mr.  Bird  opened 
the  bank  vault  from  which  the  sum  of  seventy-two 
thousand  dollars  was  taken  and  crammed  into  a  pair 
of  saddle  bags  carried  for  the  purpose.  As  the  rob- 
bers were  regaining  their  horses  for  flight,  Mr.  Bird 
thrust  his  head  out  of  a  window  and  called  to  a  little 
boy  by  the  name  of  Wymore,  whom  he  saw  passing, 
telling  him  that  a  robbery  had  been  committed  and 
to  raise  the  alarm.  As  the  little  fellow,  not  more 
than  twelve  years  of  age,  raised  the  cry  of  "  robbers  ! 
help !"  he  was  fired  on  by  the  bandits  and  fell  dead 
with  five  fatal  bullets  in  his  body.  The  robbers  then 
began  firing  indiscriminately  and  yelling  with  savage 
fury,  so  that  for  some  time  after  the  bandits  had  de- 
parted the  citizens  were  too  badly  intimidated  to 
think  of  pursuit.  A  posse,  under  the  leadership  of 
the  sheriff,  was  organized  about  one  hour  afterward, 
however,  and  started  out  on  a  spirited  chase.  The 
trail  led  to  Mount  Gilead  Church,  where  the  evi- 
dence of  bank-paper  showed  that  the  robbers  had 
tarried  a  few  moments  to  divide  the  spoils.     It  was 

also  evident  that  the  band  had  separated  and  taken 

8 


1 14  THE  BORDER  0  UTLA  WS. 

various  directions  so  as  to  elude  pursuit,  which  they 
accomplished  so  effectively  that  not  one  of  the 
bandits  was  apprehended.  Jim  White  and  J.  F.  Ed- 
munson  were  arrested  in  St.  Joseph  a  short  time 
afterward  on  suspicion,  and  a  warrant  was  issued  for 
Bill  Chiles,  their  partner,  but  he  escaped.  The  pre- 
liminary examination  failed  to  disclose  any  evidence 
showing  their  complicity  in  the  robbery,  and  they 
were  promptly  released,  though  to  this  day  there  are 
hundreds  of  good  citizens  who  feel  that  Edmunson, 
Chiles  and  White  were  members  of  the  gang. 
Among  the  bandits,  positively  recognized  as  partici- 
pants in  the  robbery,  were  Oil  Shepherd,  Red  Mon- 
kers  and  Bud  Pence,  but  they  eluded  the  officers 
cleverly,  and  very  soon  the  chase  was  abandoned.  The 
excitement  subsided  and  the  event  was  partially  for- 
gotten by  the  citizens,  nearly  all  of  whom  were  afraid 
to  manifest  any  particular  anxiety  to  bring  the  rob- 
bers to  justice,  because  assassinations  on  the  high- 
way, and  even  by  the  fireside,  had  become  too 
familiar. 

The  majority  of  Clay  county  residents  believe 
that  Cole  Younger  and  the  James  Boys  were  the 
ones  who  conceived  the  robbery,  and  that  it  was 
under  their  orders  it  was  perpetrated.  It  would  be 
transgressing  the  duties  of  the  writer,  because  preju- 
dice would  be  manifest,  to  unhesitatingly  declare 
that  the  Younger  Boys  are  responsible  for  the  rob- 
bery. The  trail  is  given  and  the  reader  left  to  draw 
his  own  conclusions,  understanding  that  these  out- 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  115 

laws  deny  any  and  all  knowledge  of  the  persons  who 
committed  the  robbery. 

The  sack  of  the  Liberty  bank  was  the  first  of  the 
second  series  of  guerrilla  crimes,  and  being  accom- 
plished with  such  perfect  success,  and  the  collection 
of  a  booty  so  considerable  inspired  many  other  sim- 
ilar surprises  which  will  be  related  in  their  regular 
order. 


JOHN  YOUNGER'S  FIRST  FIGHT. 

There  never  was  a  Younger,  perhaps,  who  did  not 
possess  great  courage,  and  this  spirit  was  manifested 
in  each  of  the  boys  at  a  remarkably  early  age.  The 
brothers  all  matured  rapidly,  however,  and  in  the 
years  of  adolescence,  they  were  considered  men  be- 
cause of  their  size.  In  January,  1866,  Cole  Younger, 
while  remaining  near  the  scenes  of  his  childhood, 
but  yet  ostracised,  because  of  the  part  he  took  dur- 
ing the  furious  years  of  61-65,  had  occasion  to  send 
his  pistol  to  Independence  for  repairs,  as  the  dog- 
spring  was  broken.  John  Younger,  his  brother,  who 
was  then  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  hitched  up  a 
team  and  drove  to  Independence,  taking  the  pistol 
with  him.  The  weapon  was  loaded,  and  in  repair- 
ing it,  the  gun-smith  allowed  the  loads  to  remain. 
Some  time  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  in  question, 
the  exact  date  being  forgotten,  John  got  the  pistol, 
paid  for  the  repairs,  and  then  walked  up  the  street 


1 16  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  tVS. 

fronting  the  public  square,  where  he  entered  a  store, 
which  already  contained  about  a  dozen  country  peo- 
ple. Among  the  number  was  an  Irishman,  named 
Gillcreos,  who  had  only  recently  been  released  from 
jail,  where  he  was  confined  for  some  offence.  Gill- 
creos had  been  a  Union  soldier,  and  was  nearly  al- 
ways boasting  of  his  soldier  record.  During  the 
general  conversation  John  Younger's  name  was 
called,  and  when  Gillcreos  learned  that  the  boy  be- 
fore him  was  a  veritable  brother  of  Cole  Younger, 
he  at  once  opened  his  batteries  of  abuse.  John 
acted  as  though  completely  frightened,  returning  no 
answer  to  the  epithets  flung  at  him  by  the  Irishman, 
and  using  every  means  to  avoid  a  difficulty.  Find- 
ing John  so  passive  to  insults,  Gillcreos  at  length, 
without  the  slightest  provocation,  administered  a  se- 
vere kick  to  the  peaceable  boy.  This  was  too  much 
to  bear.  John  showed  the  temper  that  was  slumber- 
ing by  saying :  "  If  you  do  that  again  I'll  kill  you." 
Gillcreos  immediately  kicked  John  again,  much  harder 
than  before.  In  an  instant  the  pistol  was  out  and 
fired,  the  ball  striking  the  insulting  Irishman  directly 
in  the  heart  and  killing  him,  without  a  groan  pro- 
ceeding from  the  victim's  lips. 

After  the  shooting,  John  ran  out  of  the  store  and, 
reaching  his  team,  he  quickly  cut  the  lead-horse 
loose  and  mounting,  rode  away.  On  the  following 
day,  however,  he  was  captured  and  taken  back4:o 
Independence. 

Upon  examining  Gillcreos,  after  his  death,  a  large 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  117 

slung-shot  was  found  on  his  wrist,  and  it  was  conclu- 
sively proven,  at  the  preliminary  trial,  that  the  vic- 
tim, laboring  under  great  excitement  without  proper 
cause,  manifested  a  determination  to  kill  John 
Younger,  and  would,  undoubtedly,  have  killed  the 
boy,  had  John  failed  to  fire  at  the  moment  he  did. 

The  proof  of  justification  was  so  overwhelming, 
that  the  youth  was  exhonorated  by  the  coroner's 
jury,  and  the  grand  jury  refused  to  review  the  evi- 
dence, considering  the  original  verdict  eminently 
just 


DESPERATE  ATTEMPT  AT  JAIL 
DELIVERY. 

Joab  Perry,  an  ex-guerrilla  and  notorious  law- 
breaker, was  arrested  on  the  10th  of  June  and  lodged 
in  the  jail  at  Independence.  His  character  and  as- 
sociations were  such  that  an  attempt  at  delivery  was 
anticipated,  and  a  strong  guard  was  maintained  about 
the  jail.  On  the  14th,  succeeding,  five  well-armed 
and  mounted  men  rode  into  the  town  and  proceeded 
directly  to  the  jail,  on  which  they  made  a  desperate 
attack,  and  at  the  second  fire  the  jailer  was  killed, 
while  the  bullet  marks  on  the  doors  and  windows 
about  the  jail,  bore  evidence  of  the  skilful  marks- 
manship of  the  attacking  party.  After  firing  about 
twenty  shots,  all  of  which  were  ineffectual,  save  the 
fatal  bullet  which  killed  the  jailer,  the  party  wheeled 


1 18  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

their  horses  and  rode  swiftly  out  of  town,  having 
failed  in  this  purpose  to  liberate  their  companion. 
The  names  of  the  five  men  were  never  given  to  the 
public,  for  the  reason  that  every  man  in  that  section 
knew  the  desperate  character  of  the  Younger  and 
James  boys 'and  their  comrades;  to  have  manifested 
any  officious  interference  with  these  men  was  to  in- 
vite their  vengeance.  It  was  this  reason  which  pre- 
vented active  measures,  looking  to  the  apprehension 
of  the  guerrilla,  now  outlaw  band. 


THE  LEXINGTON  BANK  ROBBERY. 

At  high  noon,  on  the  30th  of  October,  1866,  five 
determined  men  visited  Lexington,  Missouri,  and 
leisurely  hitched  their  horses  in  an  alley  near  the 
banking-house  of  Alexander  Mitchell  &  Co.  Two 
of  the  men  walked  into  the  bank,  meeting  the  cash- 
ier, J.  L.  Thomas,  in  the  door-way,  who  went  behind 
the  counter,  to  attend  to  the  wants  of  the  strangers. 
One  of  the  men  handed  a  #50  7-30  bond  to  the 
cashier  with  the  request  to  have  it  changed.  As  Mr. 
Thomas*  opened  the  cash  drawer,  two  more  of  the 
robbers  appeared  at  the  door  with  drawn  revolvers, 
the  fifth  man  being  left  in  charge  of  the  horses.  It 
was  quick  work  now,  for  looking  into  the  muzzles  of 
four  deadly  pistols,  the  cashier  was  compelled  to 
hand  over  all  the  money  in  the  bank,  #2,000,  which 
being  placed  in  a  sack,  the  robbers  coolly  walked 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  119 

out  of  the  bank  with  a  parting  admonition  to  Mr. 
Thomas,  that,  if  he  raised  any  outcry,  they  would 
kill  him.  Mounting  their  horses,  the  robbers  rode 
swiftly  away,  and  it  was  more  than  an  hour  after  the 
robbery  before  a  pursuing  party  was  organized. 
Twelve  well-armed  citizens  started  after  the  bandits 
and  spent  two  days  in  a  fruitless  search  for  the 
despoilers.  People  began  to  consider  the  insecurity 
of  country  banks  and  the  means  for  apprehending 
the  daring  outlaws ;  meetings  were  held  and  various 
plans  discussed,  but  in  two  weeks'  time  the  outrage 
was  almost  forgotten. 


THE  BANK  ROBBERY  AT  SAVANNAH,  MO. 

Six  months  had  expired  after  the  Lexington  rob- 
bery, before  another  attempt  was  made  to  crack  a 
bank  and  outrage  the  citizens  of  a  village.  The 
scars  produced  by  the  battles  on  the  border  were 
healing,  and  over  the  deepest  wounds  was  forming  a 
cicatrix  of  forgetfulness. 

Savannah  is  the  capital  seat  of  Andrew  county,  a 
thrifty  little  place,  of  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  in- 
habitants, that  had  suffered  but  little  from  the  blight 
of  war.  The  place  contained  a  small  banking  insti- 
tution, under  the  proprietorship  of  Judge  McLain, 
with  small  capital. 

/    On  the  2nd  of  March,   1867,  five  ex-guerrillas,  J. 
F.  Edmunson,  Jim  White,  Bill  Chiles,  Bud  McDan- 


120  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

ids,  and  a  fellow  named  Pope,  rode  into  Savannah 
in  such  a  manner  as  indicated  they  were  on  import- 
ant business.  It  was  nearly  high  noon,  and  no  one 
was  in  the  bank  except  the  Judge  and  his  son.  The 
bandits  rode  up  and  four  of  them  dismounted,  leav- 
ing their  horses  in  charge  of  the  fifth  man.  As  the 
four  entered  the  bank  with  drawn  pistols,  the  Judge 
looked  earnestly  over  his  spectacles,  and  at  once 
comprehended  the  character  of  his  customers.  He 
slammed  the  door  of  the  safe  shut,  and  seizing  a  re- 
volver, which  lay  on  the  .bank  counter,  he  met  the 
bandits  half-way,  but  his  shots  proved  ineffectual, 
while  a  big  navy  pistol  ball  went  tearing  through  his 
breast  which  made  him  sink  to  the  floor  as  one  death- 
stricken.  Young  McLain  ran  into  the  street  and 
gaye  the  alarm,  which  brought  many  citizens  to  the 
rescue.  The  robber  left  in  charge  of  the  horses 
shouted  for  the  return  of  his  companions,  who  find- 
ing their  position  becoming  very  serious,  mounted 
the  ready  horses  and  fled. 

A  posse  of  twenty-five  citizens  went  in  pursuit  of 
the  bandits,  a  few  minutes  after  their  hasty  depar- 
ture, and  trailed  them  for  a  great  distance.  In  the 
extreme  north-west  part  of  Missouri,  the  citizen  squad 
definitely  located  Chiles  and  White,  but  the  indica- 
tions were  also  too  apparent  that  others  of  the  band 
were  in  the  same  .neighborhood,  so  that,  the  posse  did 
not  have  courage  sufficient  to  attempt  the  capture. 
Pope  and  McDaniels  were  arrested  near  St.  Joseph, 
Mo.,  on  the  18th  of  March,  but  they  were  both  so 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  121 

well  fortified  with  witnesses,  who  swore  an  alibi,  and 
thus  their  release  was  accomplished,  but  despite  the 
alibi,  there  were  conclusive  circumstances  disclosed 
which  left  scarcely  a  possibility  of  doubt  that  they 
were  members  of  the  gang,  and  were  accomplices  in 
the  attempted  bank  robbery  at  Savannah.  Judge 
McLain's  wound,  though  a  desperate  one,  fortunately 
did  not  prove  fatal,  and,  after*several  weeks'  suffer- 
ing and  close  confinement,  he  was  enabled  to  resume 
his  duties. 


THE  ROBBERY    AND    BITTER  FIGHT 
AT  RICHMOND,  MISSOURI. 

Comparative  little  excitement  having  been  occa- 
sioned by  the  futile  attempt  to  rob  the  Savannah 
bank,  and  finding  their  funds  low,  a  plan  was  formed 
for  the  pillage  of  the  bank  at  Richmond,  Missouri. 
Accordingly,  on  the  23d  of  May  a  band  of  outlaws 
numbering  fourteen  men,  made  a  descent  on  the 
place,  headed  by  Peyton  Jones,  a  well  known  guer- 
rilla during  the  war.  They  charged  the  place,  shout- 
ing and  firing  their  pistols  at  every  person  they 
could  see.  Six  of  the  number,  under  the  sheltering 
arms  of  their  comrades,  forced  an  entrance  into  the 
private  bank  of  Hughes  &  Mason,  from  which  they 
secured  the  sum  of  four  thousand  dollars.  Mayor 
Shaw,  a  brave  and  efficient  officer,  seized  a  pistol 
and  ran  across  the  street  where  he  hoped  to  concen- 


1 22  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

trate  a  posse  of  citizens  and  give  battle  to  the  out- 
laws. The  moment  he  was  discovered,  three  of  the 
bandits  rode  swiftly  upon  him,  and  though  the  brave 
mayor  fired  with  what  aim  he  could  command,  it  was 
too  imperfect,  however,  for  execution,  and  he  fell 
fighting  in  the  street,  with  four  bullets  in  his  body. 

The  robbers  next  began  an  attack  upon  the  jail, 
which  at  that  time  held  a  number  of  prisoners  whose 
arrest,  it  was  claimed,  was  due  to  the  expression  of 
secession  sentiment.  The  jailer,  B.  G.  Griffin,  and 
his  son  fifteen  years  of  age,  were  at  the  jail,  and  they 
received  their  assailants  with  remarkable  bravery. 
The  boy  stationed  himself  behind  a  tree  and  was 
emptying  a  revolver  in  the  face  of  the  outlaws,  when 
he  was. surrounded  and  shot  to  death.  Mr.  Griffin, 
seeing  the  fate  of  his  brave  boy,  rushed  up  and 
standing  over  the  lifeless  body  fought  like  the  fren- 
zied man  he  was  until,  pierced  by  seven  bullets,  he 
fell  dead  across  the  bleeding  and  lifeless  body  of  his 
son.  By  this  time  the  citizens  recovered  their  lost 
nerves,  and  from  a  score  of  windows  there  poured 
the  rifle  and  pistol  flame,  yet  throughout  the  combat 
not  a  single  robber  was  harmed. 

This  more  desperate  outrage  than  any  previous- 
ly committed  by  the  banditti,  aroused  the  citizens  of 
Richmond  like  a  tocsin  of  war.  A  number  of  the 
outlaws  had  been  recognized,  and  the  sheriff  and  one 
hundred  volunteer  deputies  determined  to  capture 
the  gang.  Business  was  entirely  suspended  for  three 
days,  until  after  the  burial  of  the  victims,  and  the 


THE  YO  UNGER  BR  O  THERS.  1 2  3 

heaviest  capitalists  in  the  district  subscribed  means 
and  lent  every  possible  influence  to  the  effort  devel- 
oped to  apprehend  the  murderous  robbers.  War- 
rants were  issued  for  the  arrest  of  Jim  and  John 
White,  Peyton  Jones,  Dick  Burns,  Ike  Flannery, 
Andy  McGuire  and  Allen  Palmer.  Why  the  name 
of  the  latter  was  included,  it  is  difficult  to  tell,  be- 
cause Palmer  was  at  that  time  in  Kansas  City  work- 
ing for  J.  E.  Shawhan  &  Co.  Neither  the  Yourtger 
nor  James  Boys  were  included  in  the  capias,  though 
that  one  or  more  of  them  were  in  the  fight  seems 
certain  from  the  later  testimony  of  reputable  citizens 
of  Richmond. 

Kansas  City  sent  out  a  squad  of  eighteen  men  in 
pursuit  of  the  robbers,  and  on  the  26th,  three  days 
after  the  fight  and  robbery,  they  learned  that  Peyton, 
or  Payne  Jones,'  as  he  was  called,  was  stopping  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  Evans,  two  miles  west  of  Inde- 
pendence. The  squad  decided  to  capture  Jones  at 
night,  that  under  cover  of  darkness  they  might  sur- 
round him  before  discovery.  When  the  shades  of 
dusk  appeared,  the  posse,  taking  Dr.  Noland's  little 
girl  along  as  guide,  proceeded  cautiously  on  the 
highway  to  Mr.  Evans'  house.  It  was  raining  very 
hard  and  the  darkness  was  almost  impenetrable. 
Marshall  Mizery,  in  charge  of  the  squad,  disposed 
his  men  around  the  house  and  was  just  about  giving 
the  word  "  close  up,"  when  Jones,  aroused  by  some 
means  not  understood,  as  the  squad  had  preserved 
the   most   perfect   quiet,  flung    open   the   door  and 


124  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

leaped  into  the  yard  with  a  double-barreled  shot-gun 
and  two  revolvers.  The  moment  he  struck  the 
ground  Jones  discharged  both  barrels  of  the  gun, 
killing  a  young  man  named  B.  H.  Wilson  and  fatally 
wounding  Dr.  Noland's  little  daughter.  After  firing 
the  gun  Jones  threw  it  away  and  made  a  rush  for 
the  woods  one  hundred  yards  distant.  The  extreme 
darkness  and  knowledge  position  of  the  surrounding 
men  compelled  the  posse  to  withhold  their  fire 
lest  they  might  kill  some  of  their  own  number.  Pur- 
suit was,  however,  given,  and  continued  for  more  than 
two  miles,  but  the  extreme  darkness  only  served  to  di- 
vide the  party,  and  the  fifty  or  more  shots  they  fired 
might  as  well  have  been  aimed  at  the  inky  clouds  over- 
head. It  was  afterward  claimed  that  Jones  had  re- 
ceived a  slight  wound  in  the  shoulder,  but  this  report 
was  doubtless  circulated  to  create  a  belief  that  the 
expedition  had  not  resulted  entirely  fruitlessly,  espe- 
cially as  they  were  compelled  to  return  to  Kansas 
City  with  the  dead,  bodies  of  two  of  their  own 
number. 

On  the  night  following  the  attemp  to  capture 
Payne  Jones,  another  party,  of  ten  men  from  Rich- 
mond, caught  Dick  Burns,  and  without  giving  him 
time  to  pray,  with  reckless  haste  they  hung  him  to  a 
large  tree  in  a  lonely  spot  where  it  was  thought  the 
buzzards  and  crows  would  pick  him  before  the  vigi- 
lante's work  was  discovered,  and  so  it  transpired. 

Andy  McGuire  eluded  pursuit  for  several  weeks, 
but  his  time  came  at  last.     He  was  caught  not  far 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  12$ 

from  Warrensburg  by  a  small  posse  who  knew  him 
too  well  to  allow  any  intercession  of  the  law.  They 
only  decorated  Andy  with  a  new  grass  rope  and 
hauled  him  skyward  over  the  branch  of  a  big  oak, 
with  the  usual  manifestation  of  sympathy. 

Although  considerable  time  had  elapsed  after  the 
attack  on  Richmond,  yet  the  people  did  not  allow 
their  desire  for  revenge  to  cool ;  they  continued  the 
pursuit,  and  every  few  days  they  learned  the  names 
of  others  connected  with  the  daring  and  desperate 
outrage — there  was  hope  for  capturing  the  entire 
band. 

Tom  Little  was  chased  from  cave  to  cave,  over 
hills,  into  lonely  places,  and  driven,  at  last,  to  take 
passage  on  the  Fannie  Lewis  at  Jefferson  City. 
When  the  boat  reached  the  warf  at  St.  Louis,  the 
chief  of  police,  having  been  previously  notified, 
grasped  Little  and  kept  him  in  the  St.  Louis  jail  for 
some  time,  for  fear  of  lynching,  if  he  were  returned 
to  Richmond.  Afterward  he  was  taken  to  War- 
rensburg, where,  the  citizens  still  remembering  how 
Little  and  Bill  Greenwood  had,  during  the  previous 
spring,  robbed  some  of  the  largest  stores  and  defied 
arrest,  they  took  him  from  the  jail  and  left  his  body 
oscillating  from  a  large  tree,  as  an  example  to  law- 
breakers. 

Jack  Hines  and  Bill  Hulse  were  also  suspected  of 
complicity  in  the  Richmond  robbery,  and  they  were 
so  persistently  haunted,  that  it  became  necessary  for 
them  to  leave  the  country.     So  many  were  now  de- 


1 26  THE  BORDER  0  UTLA  WS. 

clared  connected  with  the  robbery,  and  the  efforts  to 
accomplish  their  arrest  were«o  determined,  that  two 
or  three  counties  became  so  excited,  that  it  appeared, 
for  a  time,  that  another  guerrilla  war  was  to  be  in- 
augurated. The  bitterest  feelings  prevailed  and 
wayside  assassinations  became  so  frequent  as  to  put 
every  man  in  jeopardy.  This  condition  of  public 
insecurity  continued  for  many  months,  and  until  sev- 
eral of  the  leading  men  of  the  affected  counties  or- 
ganized an  effort  for  pacification,  and  made  such  ap- 
peals to  the  different  elements  as  produced,  at  last, 
the  desired  effect,  and  ended  a  veritable  vendetta. 

There  were  many  persons,  of  course,  who  asserted 
that  Cole  Younger  was  in  the  robbery,  and  some 
even  declared  thai:  he  was  in  command  of  the  band, 
but  there  is  every  evidence  to  show  that  he  was  in 
Texas  at  the  time  and  was  neither  connected  with, 
nor  had  any  knowledge  of  the  outrage.  He  was,  in 
fact,  preparing  a  home  for  his  mother,  where  she 
might  live  so  far  removed  from  the  scenes  which  bur- 
dened her  with  sorrows,  that  the  memory  of  those 
dreadful  deeds  might  not  haunt  her  so  vividly. 


THE  RUSSELLVILLE  BANK  ROBBERY. 

The  excitement  in  Missouri  over  the  bank  robber- 
ies and  other  outrages,  known  to  have  been  perpe- 
trated by  the  same  organized  band  of  outlaws,  kept 
the  officers  of  country  banks  in  a  state  of  anxious 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  127 

anticipation  for  a  considerable  period  of  time.  This 
fact  being  realized  by  the  bandits,  they  concluded  to 
carry  their  adventures  into  other  fields.  Kentucky, 
therefore,  became  the  objective  point,  the  selection 
being  made  because  of  a  residence  in  that  State  by 
some  of  the  outlaws,  which  familiarized  them  with 
many  sections,  and  thus  enabled  them  to  strike  with 
better  results  and  with  surer  chances  for  escape. 
Accordingly,  the  band  left  Missouri  in  the  early  part 
of  1868,  and  took  up  quarters  in  Nelson  county, 
Kentucky,  where  a  plan  was  formed  to  rob  the  bank 
at  Russellville,  the  county  seat  of  Logan  county. 
This  place  is  located  in  a  very  rich  district  in  the 
State,  and  has  a  population  of  about  three  thousand 
souls ;  the  country  around  was  known  thoroughly  to 
George  Shepherd,  one  of  the  band,  who  resided  near 
the  town  at  the  time  and  for  two  or  three  years  be- 
fore the  robbery  was  committed.  The  particulars  of 
the  bank  plundering  are  graphically  given  by  a  cor- 
respondent in  the  Nashville  Banner  of  March  22d, 
as  follows : 

"About  ten  days  ago,  a  man  calling  himself  Col- 
burn,  and  claiming  to  be  a  cattle  dealer,  offered  to 
sell  to  Mr.  Long  a  7-30  note  of  the  .denomination  of 
#500.  As  none  of  the  coupons  had  been  cut  off, 
and  the  stranger,  who  pretended  to  be  from  Louis- 
ville, where  the  notes  were  worth  a  premium,  offered 
it  at  par  and  allowed  interest,  Mr.  Long  became 
suspicious  and  refused  to  take  it.  On  the  1 8th  he 
returned  again  and  asked  Mr.  Long  to  change  him  a 


12$  Tff£  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

$\00  bill.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  man  of  forbid- 
ding aspect,  and  suspecting  the  note  to  be  counter- 
feit, Mr.  Long  declined  changing  it.  On  the  20th, 
about  2  P.  m.,  as  Mr.  Long,  Mr.  Barclay,  clerk  in  the 
bank,  and  Mr.  T.  H.  Simmons,  a  farmer  living  near 
Russellville,  were  sitting  behind  the  counter,  Colburn 
and  another  man  rode  up  to  the  door,  hitched  their 
horses  and  entered  the  bank,  three  companions  re- 
maining outside.  They  asked  for  change  for  a  $50 
note.  Mr.  Long  pronounced  it  counterfeit,  but  was 
about  making  a  more  careful  examination,  when  Col- 
burn drew  a  revolver,  placed  its  muzzle  against  his 
head,  and  cried  out,  *  Surrender !'  Mr.  Long  wheeled 
around  and  sprang  toward  the  door  leading  into  a 
room  in  the  rear  of  the  banking  office.  He  hoped 
thus  to  make  his  exit  from  the  building  and  give  the 
alarm.  He  was,  however,  anticipated  by  one  of  the 
robbers,  who  intercepted  him  at  the  door  already 
mentioned,  placed  a  pistol  within  six  or  eight  inches 
of  his  head  and  fired,  without  having  uttered  a  word. 
The  ball  did  no  greater  injury  than  grazing  Mr. 
Long's  scalp  for  about  two  inches,  tearing  away  the 
hair  and  flesh,  but  not  fracturing  the  skull.  Mr.  L. 
seized  hold  of  the  weapon,  and  made  an  effort  to 
wrench  it  from  his  assailant,  but  the  robber  succeed- 
ed in  regaining  possession  of  his  pistol.  He  imme- 
diately commenced  to  beat  Mr.  Long  over  the  head 
with  the  butt,  and,  after  a  few  furiously  dealt  blows, 
felled  him  to  the  floor.  The  latter,  however,  sprang 
to  his  feet  and  again  got  hold  of  the  pistol,  just  as 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  129 

the  robber  was  about  to  cock  it  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  him  the  finishing  touch.  During  the  scuffle 
which  now  took  place,  Mr.  Long  managed  to  reach 
the  back  door  of  the  rear  room.  Here  he  concen- 
trated his  almost  exhausted  strength  into  a  final  ef- 
fort, freed  himself  from  the  clutches  of  the  robber, 
sprang  through  the  door  and  closed  it  after  him.  He 
then  ran  around  toward  the  front  part  of  the  build- 
ing, shouting  for  assistance.  When  he  reached  the 
street,  he  found  two  men  sitting  on  their  horses  be- 
fore the  entrance  to  the  bank.  They  were  all  armed 
with  Spencer's  rifles  and  pistols,  and  were  shooting 
up  and  down  the  street  at  all  citizens  who  came 
within  range.  As  Mr.  Long  ran  by,  they  also  fired 
twelve  or  fifteen'  shots  at  him,  but,  fortunately,  with- 
out effect. 

"  Inside  the  bank,  while  Mr.  Long  was  struggling 
with  the  fellow  above  mentioned,  and  before  Messrs. 
Barclay  and  Simmons  could  rise  from  their  seats,  the 
latter  were  confronted  by  Colburn  and  his  compan- 
ion with  cocked  revolvers  and  threats  of  instant 
death  in  case  the  least  show  of  resistance  was  made. 
Neither  of  the  gentlemen  was  armed  and  they  had  to 
accept  the  situation  with  the  best  grace  they  could 
command.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Long  made  his  retreat 
by  the  back  door,  his  antagonist  returned  to  the 
banking  office  and  assisted  in  the  work  of  plunder. 
One  of  the  robbers  stood  guard  over  Messrs.  Bar- 
clay and  Simmons,  while  Colburn  and  the  other 
proceeded  to  clean  out  the  establishment.  They 
9 


1 30  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

appeared  to  have  an  exact  knowledge  of  its  re- 
sources. As  was  afterward  ascertained,  Colburn  had 
made  some  cautious  inquiries  as  to  its  capital,  de- 
posits, etc.,  and  we  have  already  shown  that  his 
previous  visits  had  enabled  him  to  make  a  thorough 
inspection  of  the  interior.  In  the  cash  drawer  they 
found  over  nine  thousand  dollars  in  currency.  From 
the  vault,  the  door  of  which  was  standing  open,  they 
took  several  bags  of  gold  and  silver.  This  specie 
consisted  principally  of  dollars,  half-dollars  and 
quarters,  and  had  been  placed  in  the  bank  on  special 
deposit  by  several  of  the  neighboring  farmers.  The 
amount  has  never  been  ascertained,  but  it  will  not, 
we  understand,  exceed  five  thousand  dollars.  Sev- 
eral private  boxes  which  were  on  a  shelf  in  the  vault 
and  contained  bonds  were  broken  open,  but  none  of 
the  bonds  were  carried  off — doubtless  because  of  a 
fear  that  they  had  been  registered  and  would  lead  to 
the  detection  of  the  robbers.  Two  robbers  kept 
guard  outside  while  the  work  of  pillaging  was  going 
on,  and,  though  the  alarm  had  spread,  kept  the  citi- 
zens at  bay  until  a  Mr.  Owens  had  the  courage  to 
begin  firing  upon  them  with  a  pistol.  He  was  seri- 
ously but  not  dangerously  wounded.  Finally  the 
sentinels  became  alarmed  and  called  for  their  ac- 
complices inside  to  come  out.  They  quickly  com- 
plied, bringing^with  them  saddle-bags  crammed  with 
gold  and  greenbacks. 

"  They  were  greeted  with  a  heavy  volley  by  a  squad 
of  citizens  who  were  advancing  up  the  street.     All 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS. 


131 


were  soon  in  their  saddles,  and,  at  a  signal  from 
Colburn,  the  party  dashed  at  full  speed  out  of  town 
by  the  Gallatin  pike.  Many  a  leaden  missile  was 
sent  after  them,  but  beyond  the  report  that  one  had 
his  arm  broken,  there  is  no  ground  for  supposing 
that  any  of  the  shots  took  effect.  Ten  minutes  later, 
some  forty  citizens,  mounted  on  such  animals  as  they 
could  collect  from  buggies,  wagons  and  hitching- 
posts,  started  in  hot  pursuit.  All  the  advantage, 
except  in  point  of  numbers,  was  with  the  robbers. 
They  rode  splendid  horses,  and  were  as  completely 
armed  and  equipped  as  the  most  daring  and  accom- 
plished highwayman  1  >uld  desire.  Five  miles  from 
Russellville  the  trail  was  lost  in  the  woods,  nor  was 
anything  heard  of  Colburn  and  his  men  until  the 
2 1st,  when  a  dispatch  was  received  here  stating  that 
they  had  crossed  the  Louisville  and  Nashville  Rail- 
road early  in  the  morning,  near  Mitchellsville. 

"Detective  Bligh,  of  Louisville,  was  called  into 
the  case,  and  he  followed  the  trail  away  to  the  south 
for  seventy-five  miles,  where  it  suddenly  vanished  in 
Nelson  county.  One  or  two  of  the  gang  had  been 
recognized  by  parties  on  the  road,  and  it  took  but  a 
very  little  time  to  ascertain  their  associates  and 
friends.  Bligh,  with  another  officer  named  Wm. 
Gallagher,  and  some  Nelson  county  people,  first 
raided  the  house  of  George  Shepherd,  who  was  liv- 
ing in  Nelson  county.  George  surrendered  after  a 
fight,  seeing  that  he  had  no  chance  for  escape.  He 
was    taken  back    to  Logan    county,   convicted  and 


132  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

served  three  years.  The  arrest  of  George  Shep- 
herd had  been  first  made  because  he  was  by  him- 
self, the  others  of  the  gang  having  been  traced  to 
another  part  of  the  county.  On  gathering  a  posse 
to  capture  them,  it  was  found  that  news  of  George 
Shepherd's  arrest  had  gone  ahead,  and  his  cousin, 
Oil  Shepherd,  had  immediately  started  for  Missouri 
with  two  or  three  comrades.  Inquiry  easily  devel- 
oped information  that  Jesse  James  and  Cole  Younger 
went  with  him.  It  was  then  satisfactorily  shown 
that  Cole  must  have  been  the  man  who  called  him- 
self Colburn  at  the  bank.  It  was  also  found  that 
Jesse  James  had  been  "visiting  "  in  Logan  county  a 
few  weeks  before.  At  that  time  Jim  Younger  and 
Frank  James  were  a  hundred  times  more  notorious 
in  Kentucky  than  Cole  and  Jesse,  because  the  latter 
two  had  not  done  the  State  with  Quantrell.  It  was 
a  natural  thing  then  on  finding  that  Jesse  and  Cole 
had  gone  with  Shepherd,  for  the  detectives  to  claim 
that  the  other  boys  were  in  it  too,  especially  as  no 
trace  of  a  James  or  Younger  could  be  found  any- 
where in  Nelson  county  where  they  had  been  stop- 
ping off  and  on  for  a  year.  So  the  cry  of  the  '  Jamses 
and  Youngers '  was  raised.  More  careful  investiga- 
tion developed  the  fact  that  on  the  day  of  the  rob- 
bery, Jesse  James  was  at  his  hotel  in  Nelson  county. 
He  was  slowly  recovering  from  an  old  wound  which 
would  not  heal  and  made  it  imprudent  for  him  to 
ride  on  horseback  on  any  violent  trip. 

"  The  romantic  version  of  the  raid  is  that  it  was  un- 


THE  YO  UNGER  BROTHERS.  1 33 

dertaken  to  procure  funds  to  send  him  on  a  sea  voy- 
age. Frank  James  had  gone  to  California  some 
months  before." 

"  Bligh  followed  the  retreating  raiders  till  he  was 
satisfied  of  their  destination,  and  then  sent  word 
to  the  Jackson  county,  Missouri,  authorities  to  look 
out  for  them.  Oil  Shepherd  made  a  quick  trip 
of  it  and  on  arriving,  was  waited  upon  by  a  sheriffs 
posse.  As  they  summoned  him  to  surrender  he 
broke  for  the  brush  and  got  about  twenty  bullets, 
which  finished  him.  The  rest  of  the  party  were 
heard  from  a  day  or  two  later  and  as  better  informa- 
tion had  then  been  obtained,  Bligh  and  Gallagher 
went  over  with  requisitions  for  Cole  Younger,  Jesse 
James,  John  Jarrette  and  Jim  White,  who  were 
claimed  to  be  the  active  assistants  of  the  Shepherds. 
However,  the  news  of  Oil  Shepherd's  death  had 
given  them  warning  to  keep  out  of  the  way.  The 
Younger  residence  was  raided,  but  only  the  young- 
sters, John  and  Bob,  were  found  at  home.  The  bal- 
ance of  the  band  were  never  arrested.  Bligh  still 
holds  that  Jesse  James  was  accessory  to  the  job, 
though  he  admits  he  was  75  miles  away  when  it  oc- 
curred." 

There  are  several  facts  connected  with  the  Rus- 
sellville  robbery  which  the  correspondence,  quoted 
above,  perverts.  Colburn,  as  he  rightly  suspicions, 
was  Cole  Younger,  but  whatever  detective  Bligh  ad- 
mits, respecting  Jesse  James'  absence  at  the  time,  it 
is  now  positively  known  that  both  Jesse  and  Frank 


1 34  THE  BORDER  0  UTLA  WS. 

James  were  active  participants  in  the  pillage  of  that 
bank. 

George  Shepherd,  while  he  would  not  positively 
state  who  his  accomplices  were  in  the  robbery,  yet 
gave  the  writer  some  information  from  which  conclu- 
sions were  readily  reached.  Instead  of  being  cap- 
tured at  his  home  in  Nelson  county,  Shepherd  states 
that  he  was  chased  nearly  seven  hundred  miles  ;  that 
he  believed  pursuit  had  been  abandoned,  and  upon 
going  into  a  drug  store  in  a  small  town  in  Tennes- 
see, three  men  jumped  upon  him  suddenly  and  pin- 
ioned his  arms  before  he  could  make  any  resistance. 
Shepherd  further  told  the  writer  that,  before  this 
capture,  he  had  resolved  never  to  be  taken  alive,  but 
that,  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  his  arrest  pre- 
vented him  from  carrying  out  his  resolve.  During 
the  period  of  his  penitentiary  service,  Shepherd 
made  his  escape  and  succeeded  in  getting  nearly 
thirty  miles  from  the  prison,  but  was  recaptured  and 
compelled  to  serve  his  time. 

The  Russellville  band  consisted  of  Cole  and  Jim 
Younger,  Jesse  and  Frank  James,  and  George  and 
Oil  Shepherd. 


KE  TRAGIC  RESULTS  OF  A  HORSE  RACE. 

After  the  escape  from  Russellville  the  band  di- 
vided up  and  Cole  Younger  went  to  Bastrop,  Louisi- 
ana, where,  for  a  time,  he  was  stationed  during  the 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  135 

war,  and  had  a  few  acquaintances.  He  took  with 
him  South  a  blooded  horse  which,  though  ill  in  ap- 
pearance, had  developed  extraordinary  speed.  Cole 
was  a  horse  racer,  and,  in  fact,  he  never  hesitated  to 
lay  a  wager  on  either  cards  or  horses,  having  a 
marked  penchant  for  gambling. 

While  spending  a  few  months  in  Louisiana  among 
the  sporting  fraternity,  a  horse  race  was  proposed ; 
in  fact,  it  was  an  every  Saturday  recreation,  and  Cole 
was  there  with  his  long-coupled,  limber-legged, 
swaggering-gaited  horse.  Out  of  derision,  several 
sports  bantered  Cole  for  a  race,  to  which  he  readily 
consented,  amid  the  hoots  of  the  crowd.  A  long- 
haired, wealthy  planter,  with  a  clean  cut  and  noted 
racer  of  the  neighborhood,  was  Cole's  antagonist. 
The  amount  of  the  stakes  was  #1,000  which  was  de- 
posited with  a  man  on  the  ground,  an  entire  stranger 
to  Cole,  but  he  never  anticipated  any  unfairness. 

Everything  being  in  readiness,  the  horses  were 
brought  up  to  the  starting  point,*  Cole  riding  his  own 
horse,  and  they  were  sent  off  fairly  together.  It  was 
a  half-mile  stretch  over  an  excellent  track  and  for  the 
first  quarter  the  animals  kept  neck  and  neck,  but  on 
the  last  quarter  Cole's  horse  gathered  up  his  coup- 
ling, straightened  himself,  and  was  throwing  dust  in 
the  eyes  of  his  antagonist,  winning  in  fine  style, 
when  a  fellow  jumped  out  in  front  of  Cole's  horse 
and  threw  a  red  blanket  across  the  track.  The  re- 
sult was,  what  the  fellow  anticipated,  Cole's  horse 
broke  the  track  and  cut  across  the  open  field,  thereby 
losing  the  race. 


136  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

Cole  did  not  say  a  word  to  the  jockey,  but,  reining 
up  his  horse,  he  rode  back  to  the  starting  point  and 
claimed  a  foul.  The  crowd  made  sport  of  his  claim, 
derided  his  horse  and  flung  epithets  at  him.  Seeing 
that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  racers  to  defraud 
him,  Cole  first  appealed  vainly  to  the  judges  and  then 
to  the  stake-holder ;  the  latter  party  laughed  in  his 
face  and  then  delivered  the  stakes  to  the  Southerner, 
whose  horse  had  won  by  such  outrageous  trickery. 
Cole's  face  grew  paler  than  usual,  his  brow  lowered 
and  his  lips  became  nervous ;  it  was  evident  there 
was  a  struggle  within  him  and  that  there  was  just  a 
moment  of  irresolution.  He  remained  perfectly  still 
on  his  horse  for  nearly  a  minute,  receiving  the  de- 
risive banters  of  the  crowd,  and  then  he  turned  part- 
ly in  the  saddle,  drew  two  navy  revolvers  and  opened 
fire  ;  the  first  shot  killed  the  stake-holder,  and  the  two 
judges  fell  next  under  his  steady  aim,  while  in  quick 
succession,  five  others  received  terrible  wounds,  from 
which  three  of  them  never  recovered. 

The  laugh  quickly  faded  from  the  lips  of  those 
who  thought  they  were  plucking  a  harmless  and  ig- 
norant Missourian,  and  in  the  place  of  funds  for  a 
rollicking  spree,  there  were  dead  men  awaiting  bur- 
ial, and  others  ready  for  the  surgeon's  care. 

After  the  slaughter  Cole  rode  swiftly  away,  with 
none  to  pursue  him,  and  made  direct  for  Missouri, 
which  he  reached  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  and  di- 
rectly thereafter  went  to  California  in  company  with 
Frank  James. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS,  137 


ROBBING  THE  GALLATIN,  MISSOURI, 
BANK. 

More  than  eighteen  months  elapsed  after  the 
Russellville  robbery  before  the  desperate  bandits 
were  again  heard  of  by  the  public.  Cole  Younger 
and  Frank  James  spent  more  than  one  year  of  this 
time  in  California  with  their  relatives.  Their  deeds 
were  so  far  forgotten  as  to  be  remembered  only  in 
the  traditions  of  what  were  called  "  stirring  times." 
The  country  banks  had  relaxed  their  vigilance,  and 
detectives,  anxious  to  pluck  honors  by  bringing 
noted  criminals  to  justice,  looked  no  longer  toward 
the  border  bandits.  Suddenly,  and  with  a  surprise 
which  shook  society  like  a  social  earthquake,  the 
outlaws  returned  to  their  old  haunts  in  Missouri,  and 
descended  like  some  terrible  avalanche  upon  the 
Daviess  County  Savings  Bank  at  Gallatin.  It  was 
but  a  fragment  of  the  old  crowd,  however,  Cole 
Younger  and  the  James  Boys,  the  most  desperate 
trio  that  guerrilla  warfare  ever  gave  birth  to. 

It  was  on  the  7th  of  December,  1869,  when  the 
three  rode  leisurely  into  Gallatin  and  stopped  in  front 
of  the  bank.  Cole  and  Jesse  dismounted,  leaving 
Frank  with  the  horses  and  to  keep  the  outside  clear 
of  interference.  In  the  bank,  at  the  time,  was  a 
young  man  named  McDowell  making  a  deposit,  and 
Capt  John  W.  Sheets,  the  cashier.  Jesse  James 
threw  a  one  hundred  dollar  bill  on  the  counter  and 


1 38  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

asked  the  cashier  to  give  him  small  change  in  return, 
Capt.  Sheets  took  the  bill,  walked  back  to  the  safe, 
took  out  a  handful  of  money,  and,  returning  to  the 
counter,  was  in  the  act  of  counting  out  the  change, 
when  Cole  Younger  suddenly  thrust  a  navy  revolver 
forward  and  commanded  the  cashier  to  surrender 
to  them  the  keys  of  the  inner  cjoors  of  the  safe,  the 
outer  ones  being  open.  Before  the  startled  McDow- 
ell could  recover  from  his  astonishment,  he  found  the 
deadly  revolver  of  Jesse  James  covering  his  person, 
and  was  forced  to  consider  himself  a  prisoner.  Cole 
Younger  went  behind  the  counter,  plundered  the 
safe  and  till,  and  secured  in  all  about  seven  hundred 
dollars  in  currency.  After  rifling  the  safe,  there  was 
a  whispered  consultation,  and  the  next  moment  Jesse 
James  turned  and  deliberately  shot  Capt.  Sheets 
dead.  Meantime  one  or  two  persons  who  had  come 
to  the  bank  on  business  had  been  driven  away  by 
the  confederate  outside,  and  this,  together  with  the 
sound  of  the  pistol  shots,  had  caused  an  alarm  to  be 
given.  The  whole  transaction  occupied  but  a  few 
minutes,  but  by  the  time  the  robbers  emerged  from 
the  bank,  a  dozen  citizens  had  snatched  up  various 
weapons  and  were  moving  up  the  street  toward  the 
bank.  Frank  James  called  out  to  his  comrades,  his  cry 
being  answered  by  the  immediate  appearance  of  Jesse 
and  Cole,  who  rushed  out  of  the  bank.  The  horses, 
spirited  animals,  were  headed  for  flight,  and  affright- 
ed by  the  shouts  of  the  advancing  crowd,  Jesse's 
horse  gave  a  plunge  just  as   he,   with  one  foot  in 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  139 

he  stirrup,  had  made  an  effort  to  mount.  The  sud- 
denness of  the  horse's  movement  completely  dis- 
comfited the  robber,  who  fell  to  the  ground  and  was 
dragged  about  thirty  feet  head  downwards  with  one 
heel  fast  in  the  stirrup.  By  that  time,  however,  he 
succeeded  in  disengaging  himself.  For  a  second  he 
lay  prone  on  the  ground,  while  the  fractious  steed 
went  careering  away  in  the  distance.  The  crowd  of 
citizens  began  to  open  a  lively  fusillade,  but 
Frank  James  instantly  wheeled  and  rode  back  to  his 
dismounted  brother,  who  leaped  up  behind  him,  and 
away  they  went  together.  Less  than  ten  minutes 
had  elapsed  when  the  citizens  were  mounted  in  pur- 
suit, and  they  must  soon  have  overtaken  the  over- 
loaded horse  that  was  carrying  double.  It  so 
happened,  however,  that  about  a  mile  southwest  of 
town  the  fugitives  met  Mr.  Dan  Smoot  riding  an  ex- 
cellent saddle-horse.  Without  a  moment's  hesitation 
they  rode  up  to  him,  and  with  the  muzzle  of  a  re- 
volver an  inch  from  his  nose,  requested  him  to 
dismount.  Of  course  he  took  to  the  bush  with  great 
alacrity,  and  the  three  bandits  were  once  more  thor- 
oughly equipped.  They  appeared  to  have  had  little 
fear  for  the  result  after  this.  Between  Gallatin  and 
Kidder  they  talked  with  several  persons,  boasting  of 
what  they  had  done.  On  nearing  Kidder  they  met 
Rev.  Mr.  Helm,  a  Methodist  minister.  They  pressed 
him  into  service  by  the  use  of  the  usual  persuasion, 
the  revolver,  and  made  him  guide  them  around  so 
that  they  could  avoid  the  town.     On  leaving  him 


140  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

one  of  them  told  Mr.  Helm  that  he  was  Bill  Ander- 
son's brother,  and  that  he  killed  S.  P.  Cox,  if  he 
hadn't  made  a  mistake  in  the  man.  He  claimed  that 
this  was  an  act  of  vengeance  for  the  death  of  his 
brother  Bill. 

The  pursuing  posse  followed  hot  upon  the  heels  of 
the  fugitives,  who  were  once  or  twice  almost  in  sight. 
About  six  miles  south  of  Kidder  they  took  to  the 
woods,  going  toward  the  Missouri  river,  and  there 
their  woodcraft  and  the  approach  of  night  enabled 
them  to  escape.  The  horse  which  had  escaped  and 
so  nearly  killed  Jesse  in  front  of  the  bank,  was  held 
by  the  sheriff  of  Daviess  county.  The  escaping  rob- 
bers were  traced  across  into  Clay  county,  and  the 
abandoned  horse,  according  to  an  account  in  the 
Kansas  City  Times,  of  December  16,  1869,  was  fully 
identified  as  the  property  of  "a  young  man  named 
James,  whose  mother  and  step-father  live  about  four 
miles  from  Centreville,  Clay  county,  near  the  Cam- 
eron branch  of  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joe  Railroad." 
The  account  adds  that  "  both  he  and  his  brother  are 
desperate  men,  having  had  much  experience  in  horse 
and  revolver  work."  The  most  careful  inquiry  was 
made  in  order  to  leave  no  question  as  to  the  identity 
of  the  robbers,  and  it  is  still  held  that  there  was  no 
doubt  about  Frank  and  Jesse  James  and  Cole  Young- 
er being  the  trio. 

As  soon  as  it  was  definitely  ascertained  who  the 
men  were  and  where  they  lived,  two  of  the  citizens 
of  Gallatin,  thoroughly   armed  and  mounted,  rode 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  141 

away  to  Liberty,  Clay  county,  where  they  called  on 
Mr.  Tomlinson,  the  deputy  sheriff,  and  stated  what 
they  knew  about  the  three  outlaws,  and  what  they 
had  done  in  Gallatin.  Tomlinson,  accompanied  by 
his  son  and  the  two  pursuers  from  Gallatin,  started 
at  once  for  Dr.  Samuels'  house,  the  step-father  of 
the  brothers  James.  This  house  is  some  20  miles 
from  Liberty.  Approaching  it,  some  strategy  was 
displayed.  The  Gallatin  detachment  watching  it 
from  the  side  next  the  woods,  the  Liberty  detach- 
ment— father  and  son — dismounted  at  the  gate  in 
front  of  the  house  and  walked  very  deliberately  up 
to  the  door.  Before  reaching  it,  however,  a  little 
negro  boy  ran  past  them  and  on  to  the  stable,  and 
just  as  he  got  there,  the  door  opened  suddenly,  and 
out  dashed  the  two  brothers  on  splendid  horses, 
with  pistols  drawn,  and  took  the  lot  fence  at  a  swing- 
ing gallop.  The  Gallatin  party,  from  the  fence  above, 
opened  fire  on  sight ;  the  sheriff  and  his  son  followed 
suit ;  the  brothers  joined  in  at  intervals,  and  then  the 
chase  began.  To  mount  and  away  in  pursuit  was 
with  Tomlinson  but  the  work  of  a  few  seconds,  and 
he  dashed  on  after  the  robbers.  His  horse  alone  of 
all  the  horses  ridden  in  pursuit  would  take  the 
fence,  and  so  while  the  rest  of  the  party  were  dis- 
mounting and  pulling  off  top  rails,  Mr.  Tomlinson 
was  riding  like  the  wind  after  the  two  brothers.  He 
gained  upon  them,  well  mounted  as  they  were.  He 
fired  several  times  at  them  and  they  at  him,  but  the 
rate  of  speed  was  too  great  for  accuracy.     Carried 


142  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

on  by  the  ardor  of  the  chase,  Mr.  Tomlinson  soon 
found  himself  far  in  advance  of  the  supporting  col- 
umn and,  in  fact,  hotly  pursuing  two  desperadoes 
with  no  weapon  to  rely  upon  except  an  empty  re- 
volver. Just  what  happened  will  probably  never  be 
known,  as  there  were  no  witnesses  except  the  princi- 
pals. A  short  time  afterward,  however,  Mr.  T.  came 
back  to  Dr.  Samuels'  house  on  foot,  having  evidently 
made  a  forced  march  through  the  brush.  He  bor- 
rowed a  horse  and  started  for  Centreville.  He  had 
hardly  been  gone  ten  minutes,'  when  the  two  James 
boys  returned  to  the  house,  and  on  learning  that  he 
had  had  the  cheek  to  come  back  there,  they  went 
after*  him,  swearing  they  would  kill  him.  They 
missed  him,  however.  The  horse  he  had  first  ridden 
was  afterward  found  shot  dead.  Tomlinson  reached 
Liberty  about  ten  o'clock  that  night,  and  found  the 
town  in  considerable  excitement  over  the  report  that 
he  had  been  killed.  His  posse  having  lost  track  of 
him,  had  returned  to  Liberty  and  circulated  the  re- 
port. 

Tomlinson's  story  about  the  affair  was  that  he 
found  he  could  not  hit  the  boys  from  a  running  horse, 
and  so  he  dismounted  to  get  one  deliberate  shot. 
The  outlaws  subsequently  told  some  of  their  friends 
that  when  they  found  only  one  man  close  to  them 
they  turned  on  him  and  killed  his  horse,  where- 
upon he  plunged  into  a  thicket,  and  they  were  will- 
ing enough  to  let  him  get  away,  but  they  had  no  idea 
he  would  go  to  their  home  for  a  fresh  horse.     Of 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  143 

course  the  whole  country  turned  out  after  this,  to 
catch  the  Jameses,  but  they  were  not  caught.  The 
robbery  was,  perhaps,  the  most  remarkable  of  all 
that  have  been  done  by  the  Missouri  bandits,  partly 
because  only  three  men  were  engaged  in  it,  and  part- 
ly, because  of  the  utter  wantonness  of  the  murder 
committed. 

In  justice  to  Cole  Younger,  let  it  be  said,  that  he 
not  only  denied  any  participation  in  this  outrage,  but 
there  are  hundreds  of  persons  who  have  announced 
their  readiness  to  make  oath  that  Cole  was  not  in 
Missouri  at  the  time  of  the  robbery.  Both  the  James 
boys  also  offered  to  prove  alibis,  but  it  is  almost  cer- 
tain they  were  the  perpetrators  of  the  pillage  and 
murder.  The  proof  is  much  less  convincing  respect- 
ing Cole's  participation.  The  account  of  the  rob- 
bery as  here  given,  is  in  conformity  with  the  gener- 
ally accepted  belief  of  the  people  in  and  about  Gal- 
latin. 


THE  HANGING  OF  JOHN  YOUNGER. 

After  the  first  charges  of  robbery  were  preferred 
against  Cole  and  James  Younger,  there  was  no  time 
in  which  they  could  neglect  a  vigilant  watch,  for  de- 
tectives were  in  constant  pursuit,  and  armed  bands 
of  vindictive  border  residents  were  almost  constantly 
prowling  about  the  Younger  residence,  with  the  hope 
of  catching  Cole,  especially.     In  the  early  part  of 


144  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

1870,  only  a  few  months  before  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Younger,  a  squad  of  twelve  men,  supposed  to  be 
Kansas  vigilants,  stole  upon  the  Younger  residence 
during  the  night,  in  pursuance  of  information  re- 
ceived that  Cole  and  Jim  were  at  home.  Upon  for- 
cibly entering  the  house,  they  found  only  John  Youn- 
ger and  his  sisters  ministering  to  the  needs  of  their 
dying  mother.  The  scene  was  one  of  extraordinary 
sadness  and  would  have  caused,  it  would  seem,  the 
most  callous  heart  to  bleed  with  sympathy.  Mrs. 
Younger  had  suffered  so  much  by  the  havoc  of  war 
and  the  passions  of  infamous  men,  that  her  health 
gave  way  and  she  fell  a  victim  to  that  slow,  but  cer- 
tain destroyer,  consumption.  When  the  squad  en- 
tered the  house  with  rattling  spurs  and  aspects  fiercer 
than  the  arms  they  bore,  the  wretched  mother  lay 
like  one  in  the  grasp  of  death ;  the  sunken  eyest 
hectic  cheeks  and  emaciated  form,  around  which 
gathered  those  who  realized  how  soon  they  would  be 
motherless,  was  that  "  touch  of  nature  which  makes 
the  whole  world  kin." 

Singular  as  it  appears,  the  armed  posse  took  no 
heed  of  the  tread  of  death  which  might  have  been 
heard  in  the  room ;  their  aspects  were  not  softened 
by  sympathy,  and  their  purpose  was  inflexible  ;  they 
meant  to  kill.  The  house  was  examined  but  no 
traces  of  Cole  or  Jim  Younger  were  discovered ;  de- 
mands made  upon  John  and  his  sisters  respecting  the 
whereabouts  of  their  outlaw  brothers,  were,  of  course, 
treated  with  ignorance.     But  the  squad,  determined 


T//E  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  i4J 

not  to  be  deceived,  forcibly  took  John  away  from  the 
bedside  of  his  mother  and  carried  him  to  the  barn  ; 
here  they  attempted  to  extort  from  him  the  informa- 
tion they  sought,  first  by  threats,  and  failing  in  this 
they  resorted  to  torture.  A  noose  was  thrown 
around  the  unfortunate  boy's  neck  and  run  over  a 
rafter;  he  was  then  drawn  up  and  left  suspended 
until  his  face  grew  black.  The  poor  fellow  was  then 
let  down  and  again  asked  to  reveal  the  hiding  place 
of  his  brothers.  Still  declaring  that  he  did  not  know, 
the  squad  again  suspended  him  as  before;  three 
times  this  cruel  treatment  was  repeated;  the  last 
•time  he  was  allowed  to  hang  so  long  that  the  rope 
lacerated  his  neck,  and  when  they  let  him  down  he 
was  unconscious.  After  recovering  somewhat,  the 
now  infuriated  mob  had  recourse  to  their  knives; 
with  these  they  cut  and  slashed  the  boy,  finally  leav- 
ing him  apparently  dead.  For  several  hours  he  lay 
unconscious  and  bleeding  in  the  barn  before  his  sis- 
ters discovered  him,  they  being  compelled  to  remain 
in  the  house  when  their  brother  was  carried  away. 

It  was  several  weeks  before  John  recovered  from 
the  wounds  he  had  received,  and  during  his  conva- 
lescence Mrs.  Younger  died,  and  then  the  family  was 
indeed  wrecked.  To  escape  further  persecution, 
John  Younger  went  to  Texas  where  his  other  broth- 
ers had  preceded  him  some  time  before,  and  for  a 
short  time  he  clerked  in  a  grocery  store  in  Dallas. 


10 


146  THE  BORDER  QUTLAWS. 

THE  MURDER  OF   SHERIFF  NICHOLS. 

During  his  residence  in  Texas,  John  Younger 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  a  large  number  of  ques- 
tionable characters,  and  under  their  influence  he  was 
led  into  the  commission  of  a  crime  which  he  has 
bitterly  repented  of  a  thousand  times.  The  particu- 
lars concerning  the  murder  of  the  sheriff  of  Dallas 
county,  by  John  Younger,  have  been  given  so  many 
times  and  with  such  variance  that  it  is  impossible 
now  to  relate  the  circumstances  without  incorpo- 
rating some  mistatements.  John  Younger's  story 
makes  the  deed  one  of  justifiable  homicide,  while 
others  declare  it  to  have  been  a  cold-blooded  mur- 
der. In  the  absence  of  a  reasonable  motive,  it  is 
impossible  for  the  writer  to  believe  that  the  murder 
was  committed  without  cause.  Following  is  be- 
lieved to  be  the  most  reliable  version: 

On  the  night  of  January  15,  1871,  John  Younger, 
in  company  with  several  associates,  was  in  a  saloon 
in  Dallas  kept  by  Joe  Krueger;  the  crowd  had  been 
drinking  rather  freely,  and  their  conversation  finally 
turned  on  who  was  the  best  pistol  shot  in  the  party. 
In  the  saloon  at  the  time  was  an  old  besotted  wretch 
who  went  by  the  euphonious  title  of  "  Old  Blue ;" 
whiskey  had  destroyed  his  manhood  and  produced 
a  physical  wreck.  His  only  desire  was  for  whiskey, 
and  to  obtain  this  he  would  hesitate  at  nothing. 

John  Younger  professed  to  be  a  crack  shot  with 
a  pistol,  and  at  length  bet  the  crowd  a  treat  that  he 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  147 

could  shoot  a  pipe  out  of  "  Old  Blue's  "  mouth  at 
the  space  of  ten  steps.  The  old  fellow  was  sitting 
in  a  chair  half  drunk  when  the  proposition  was 
made,  and  shook  his  head  in  doubt  but,  said  noth- 
ing. One  of  the  men  accepted  the  bet,  and  to  get 
"  Old  Blue "  to  stand  the  fire,  he  was  given  two 
glasses  full  of  whiskey.  The  space  was  measured 
off  in  the  saloon,  and  the  old  sot  was  propped  up  in 
the  corner  witft  a  pipe  in  his  mouth,  his  head  had 
been  steadied  by  lying  back  between  two  beer 
kegs.  John  Younger  then  took  position  and,  aim- 
ing as  deliberately  as  his  condition  would  allow,  fired. 
"  Old  Blue  "  gave  a  snort  as  the  bullet  cut  off  the 
end  of  his  nose  and  the  blood  streamed  from  the 
wound  in  great  profusion.  He  yelled  murder,  and 
nothing  would  pacify  him,  not  even  the  offer  of  a 
barrel  of  whiskey.  The  crowd  soon  after  broke  up 
and  went  home,  leaving  the  old  man  to  take  care  of 
himself. 

On  the  following  day,  at  the  suggestion  of  some 
official  persons,  "  Old  Blue  "  swore  out  a  warrant 
against  John  Younger,  charging  him  with  attempt  to 
commit  murder.  The  sheriff  of  the  county,  Capt. 
S.  W.  Nichols,  who  was  a  former  resident  of  Mis- 
souri and  an  officer  in*he  Confederate  service,  took 
the  warrant  himself  and  served  it  on  Younger.  John 
received  the  sheriff  very  affably,  but  when  the  war- 
rant for  arrest  was  read,  he  began  to  reflect  seriously 
about  submitting.  The  reputation  of  the  Younger 
Boys  was  well  known  in  Texas,  and  John  concluded 


T48  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

at  once  that  if  he  became  a  prisoner  that  other 
charges  would  be  preferred  against  him  by  his  ene- 
mies. 

Contemplating  his  position  for  a  moment,  John 
Younger  made  answer :  "  All  right,  Captain,  just  as 
quick  as  I  get  my  breakfast  I'll  come  over  to  your 
office." 

This  reply  did  not  exactly  satisfy  the  sheriff, 
though  he  said  nothing,  concluding  to  remain  and 
watch  the  house  until  Younger  came  out,  at  the  same 
time  entertaining  fears  that  some  trouble  was  immi- 
nent. Back  of  the  place  where  John  was  boarding, 
there  was  a  livery  stable,  and  after  eating  his  break- 
fast, he  passed  out  at  the  back  way  and  had  reached 
the  stable,  where  he  inquired  for  a  horse,  when  the 
sheriff  espied  him.  As  he  ran,  Nichols  drew  his  pis- 
tol and  commanded  John  to  halt,  but,  instead  of 
obeying,  Younger  ran  through  the  stable  and  was 
passing  out  at  the  rear  door,  when  the  sheriff  fired  at 
him.  Finding  himself  headed  off  by  a  blind  alley, 
John  turned  and,  drawing  his  pistol,  forbid  the  fur- 
ther approach  of  the.  sheriff.  By  this  time  consider- 
able excitement  had  been  created  and  a  merchant  of 
the  place  seized  a  loaded  shot-gun  and  joined  in  the 
pursuit.  Finding  escape  imr*>ssible,  while  the  sher- 
iff was  shooting  at  him  from  time  to  time,  Younger 
at  length  put  out  his  pistol  and  shot  Nichols  through 
the  heart,  killing  him  instantly;  the  merchant,  whose 
name  cannot  now  be  recalled,  then  discharged  his 
gun  at  John,  sending  a  load  of  fine  shot  into  his 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  149 

shoulder.  The  next  moment  the  merchant  lay  writh- 
ing with  a  pistol  ball  in  his  breast,  while  John  ran 
back  through  a  small  crowd  and,  taking  a  horse  that 
was  standing  hitched  to  a  fence,  he  mounted  and  rode 
off.  Some  hours  afterward  a  posse  of  citizens  went 
in  search  of  the  fugitive  and  followed  him  for  more 
than  one  hundred  miles,  but  he  escaped  and  came 
north  to  St.  Clair  county,  Mo.,  where,  after  obtaining 
some  money,  he  went  to  California.  He  remained  in 
Los  Angeles  for  several  months,  unable  to  find  any 
profitable  employment,  and  receiving  a  request  from 
his  brother  Cole  to  return,  he  started  back  by  rail.  On 
the  route  home,  a  detective  sought  to  accomplish  his 
arrest  and  there  was  an  exchange  of  shots  in  the  car 
when  the  train  was  twelve  miles  west  of  Laramie.  The 
detective  was  shot  through  the  arm,  while  John,  be- 
ing unhurt,  leaped  from  the  running  train,  seriously 
spraining  his  right  ankle  in  the  fall.  He  made  his 
way  on  foot  for  several  miles  and  finally  fell  in  with 
a  wagon  train  for  Denver.  From  that  city  he 
reached  home  after  a  journey  replete  with  misfor- 
tunes, for,  having  no  money,  he  was  repeatedly  put 
off  the  train  and  more  than  one-third  the  distance  he 
was  compelled  to  walk  in  shoes  so  badly  worn  that 
they  could  scarcely  be  kept  on  his  feet. 

After  reaching  home,  John  joined  his  two  broth- 
ers, Cole  and  Jim,  and  afterward  was  with  them  in 
their  raids  until  his  death  in  1874. 


150  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 


THE  CORYDON,  IOWA,  BANK  ROBBERY. 

The  bank-raiding  outlaws  went  into  seclusion  af- 
ter the  Gallatin  robbery,  spending  another  eighteen 
months  in  Texas  and  their  impregnable  cave  in  Jack- 
son county,  Missouri.  They  had  a*well-defined  pol- 
icy of  action  by  which  they  were  guided  in  their  so- 
cial intercourse  as  well  as  in  their  dangerous  adven- 
tures. Secret  communication  was  kept  up  when  the 
band  was  divided,  and  each  one  was  always  on  the 
alert  for  special  opportunities  in  the  practice  of  their 
peculiar  profession. 

After  a  long  period  of  idleness  and  plotting,  the 
reorganized  band,  consisting  of  the  two  James  boys, 
Cole  and  Jim  Younger,  Clell  Miller,  Jim  White  and 
one  other,  whose  identity  has  never  been  conclusive- 
ly established,  seven  in  all,  decided  to  visit  Iowa  and 
plunder  the  bank  of  Obocock  Bros,  in  Corydon.  On 
the  3rd  of  June,  1871,  the  seven  outlaws,  well 
mounted  and  armed,  came  trooping  into  the  town, 
like  so  many  countrymen  hastening  to  the  political 
meeting  then  in  progress  in  the  public  square.  They 
halted  before  the  bank  and  three  of  the  party  dis- 
mounted, while  the  remaining  four  stood  guard  on 
the  outside.  The  dismounted  trio  entered  the  bank, 
very  quietly,  and,  find  ng  no  one  inside  but  the  cash- 
ier, it  being  high  noon,  he  was  confronted  by  three 
heavy  revolvers  and  then  bound  hand  and  foot. 
This  was  a  singular  act  which  the  bandits  never  be- 
fore or  since  attempted,  and  their  purpose  is  not  yet 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  151 

apparent,  for  they  obtained  the  keys  of  the  safe 
without  trouble,  and  plundered  it  of  nearly  #40,000, 
one  of  the  largest  hauls,  if  not  the  largest,  they  had 
ever  made  up  to  that  time. 

After  completing  the  robbery  and  placing  their 
treasure  in  a  sack,  the  three  emerged  from  the  bank 
and,  mounting  their  horses,  the  entire  party  masked 
themselves  with  handkerchiefs  and  rode  over  to  the 
political  meeting,  which  was  being  addressed  by 
Henry  Clay  Dean,  where  Jesse  James  asked  pardon 
of  the  speaker  for  interrupting  him  a  few  moments. 
Mr.  Dean  graciously  gave  way  when  Jesse,  still  sit- 
ting astride  his  horse  with  the  other  bandits  by  his  side, 
spoke  as  follows  :  "  Well,  you've  been  having  your  fun 
and  we've  been  having  ourn.  You  needn't  go  into  hys- 
terics when  I  tell  you  that  we've  just  been  down  to 
the  bank  and  robbed  it  of  every  dollar  in  the  till. 
If  you'll  go  down  there  now  you'll  find  the  cashier 
tied  and  then  if  you  want  any  of  us,  why,  just  come 
down  and  take  us.  Thank  you  for  your  attention." 
At  the  conclusion  of  this  strange  speech  the  seven 
dare-devils  set  up  a  wild  yell,  lifted  their  hats  and 
sped  away  southward.  The  crowd  thought  the  con- 
fession was  only  a  plan  to  break  up  the  meeting,  but 
a  few  minutes  served  to  prove  the  truth  of  Jesse's 
words. 

After  discovering  the  robbery  there  were  hasty 
preparations  for  pursuit,  and  a  posse  of  a  dozen 
men,  headed  by  the  sheriff,  dashed  off  in  reckless 
haste  to  capture  the  bandits.     On  the  second  day 


152  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

the  outlaws  were  overtaken  in  Daviess  county,  Mo., 
and  a  fight  ensued,  but  the  citizens  were  forced  to 
give  way  without  inflicting  any  damage  on  the  bold 
marauders.  Others  joined  in  the  chase,  however,  and 
the  trail  was  followed  into  Clay  county  and  then  into 
Jackson,  where  the  track  faded  out  suddenly. 

The  Kansas  City  detectives  continued  to  search 
for  the  perpetrators  of  the  robbery  and  two  months 
afterward  they  arrested  Clell  Miller  in  Clay  county 
and  took  him  back  to  Iowa  on  a  requisition.  He 
was  tried  at  Corydon  in  November,  1872,  the  court 
proceedings  lasting  from  Monday,  November  loth, 
until  the  Friday  following,  when,  owing  to  the  insuf- 
ficiency of  the  identification  evidence,  he  was  dis- 
charged ;  the  mask  he  wore  had  saved  him. 

The  Younger  and  James  Boys  stoutly  protested 
their  innocence  and  referred  to  scores  of  parties  in 
the  counties  of  Clay  and  Jackson  to  prove  their 
presence  in  certain  places,  at  the  date  of  the  rob- 
bery. The  accepted  belief,  however,  is  that  the  out- 
rage was  perpetrated  by  the  individuals  named  in 
this  account ;  the  alibi  had  become  a  subterfuge  al- 
together too  flimsy. 


THE  COLUMBIA,  KENTUCKY,  BANK 
ROBBERY. 

The  outlaws  spent  several  months  in  their  well- 
furnished   cave   in   Jackson  county,  living  a   life  of 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  153 

elegant  ease,  enjoying  all  the  comforts  liberal  wealth 
could  purchase.  Tired,  at  last,  of  hilarious  idleness, 
the  James  and  Younger  Boys  concluded  to  pay  an- 
other visit  to  their  friends  and  relatives  in  Kentucky. 
Having  plenty  of  money  they  divided  with  their  poor- 
er kinship  in  Nelson  county,  and  sporting  until  their 
natures  grew  restless  for  new  adventures,  they 
planned  the  pillage  of  the  Deposit  Bank  at  Colum- 
bia. First  providing  themselves  with  the  purest 
blooded  horses  they  could  purchase,  and  completing 
every  detail  for  a  profitable  ride,  the  three  Younger 
brothers  and  the  James  Boys  set  out  for  Columbia. 

On  the  29th  of  April,  1872,  the  five  daring  out- 
laws rode  into  Columbia  by  different  roads,  coming 
together  in  the  public  square  at  2:30  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  Scarcely  had  they  met  when  John  and 
Jim  Younger  dashed  down  the  street  yelling  and 
firing  their  pistols  at  every  person  seen  abroad,  while 
Cole  and  the  two  James  Boys  rode  directly  to  the 
bank  and  entered  with  drawn  pistols.  In  the  bank 
at  the  time  was  the  cashier,  Hon.  R.  A.  C.  Martin, 
James  Garnett  and  Mr.  Dalrymple.  A  demand  was 
made  on  the  cashier  for  the  safe  keys,  which  being 
refused,  one  of  the  outlaws  shot  him  dead.  The 
other  gentlemen  in  the  bank  made  a  hasty  exit, 
leaving  the  bandits  in  undisturbed  possession.  Be- 
ing unable  to  effect  an  entrance  into  the  safe,  the 
robbers  were  compelled  to  content  themselves  with 
the  currency  they  found  in  the  drawers,  amounting 
to  about  two  hundred  dollars;  they  then  remounted 


1 54  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

their  horses  and  the  gang  galloped  away  southward. 
On  the  same  afternoon  of  the  robbery,  fifteen 
men,  with  such  horses  and  arms  as  they  could  hastily 
secure,  started  out  after  the  bandits,  while  telegrams 
were  sent  in  every  direction  with  the  hope  of  head- 
ing them  off.  Others  joined  in  the  chase,  and  the 
trail  was  followed  pertinaciously  through  Kentucky 
and  several  hundred  miles  in  Tennessee,  but  the  out- 
laws gained  the  dense  coverts  and  recesses  of  the 
Cumberland  Mountains  where  pursuit  ended.  The 
shooting  of  the  cashier  has  been  charged  to  Frank 
James,  but  this  is  merely  supposition.  It  is  almost 
certain  that  Cole  Younger  did  not  commit  the  mur- 
der, because  of  his  well  known  aversion  to  the 
adoption  of  such  expedients  to  effect  a  robbery ; 
Cole  would  try  intimidation,  but  his  nature  revolted 
at  murder  except  where  the  conditions  were  equally 
divided,  and  it  was  life  staked  against  life. 


A  DARING   RAID  AT  THE   KANSAS   CITY 
FAIR. 

The  outlaws  returned  to  Missouri  after  their  last 
raid  in  Kentucky,  and  spent  several  months  in  their 
comfortably  fitted  up  cave  in  Jackson  county.  Jesse 
and  Frank  James  were  frequent  visitors  at  their 
mother's  house,  and  Cole  and  John  Younger  were 
not  infrequent  guests  at  the  same  residence.  All  the 
Younger  brothers  were  seen  together  when  they  at- 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  155 

tended  the  Sny  Bar  church  on  the  second  Sunday  in 
August,  and  they  took  no  means  to  hide  their  iden- 
tity. In  the  September  following,  1872,  the  Kansas 
City  Fair  was  held,  beginning  on  the  23d ;  the  attend- 
ance was  very  large,  one  of  the  special  attractions 
being  the  renowned  horse  Ethan  Allen,  which  was 
advertised  to  trot  against  a  running  mate  on  Thurs- 
day, the  26th.  At  this  time  the  writer  was  a  report- 
er on  the  Kansas  City  Journal,  and  was  performing 
special  duties  at  the  fair,  occupying  a  position  which 
afforded  every  facility  for  learning  full  particulars  of 
the  incident  about  to  be  related. 

When  Thursday,  which  is  always  the  "big  day" 
of  the  Exposition,  arrived,  every  incoming  train 
poured  hundreds  of  new  arrivals  into  the  city.  The 
streets  were  literally  jammed  during  the  early  morn- 
ing hours,  and  by  nine  o'clock  the  stream  of  human- 
ity began  to  flow  toward  the  fair  grounds.  It  was, 
indeed,  a  big  day  for  both  the  city  and  the  fair  as- 
sociation. By  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  there 
was  scarcely  standing-room  about  the  race  course  or 
the  buildings  containing  exhibition  articles.  Ethan 
Allen  was  brought  out  and  shown  to  the  thousands 
occupying  the  amphitheatre,  and  then  the  pool  sell- 
ing began  on  the  other  races  to  take  place  after  the 
noted  horse  had  exhibited  his  speed.  I  can  never 
forget  the  excitement  manifested  by  the  crowd ;  not 
that  there  were  any  rows  or  disturbances,  but  the 
gathering  was  so  great,  and  there  was  such  an  unus- 
ual disposition  to  bet,  both  on  Ethan  Allen's  time, 


156  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

and  the  combinations  in  the  pool,  that  the  noise  was 
like  Pandemonium  on  election  day. 

At  three  o'clock  the  great  horse  appeared  in  har- 
ness in  the  ring,  and  when  he  was  sent  off  the  most 
deafening  cries  arose  from  the  crowd  and  continued 
until  the  mile  was  finished,  in  2:18,  I  believe.  After 
this  there  was  a  gradual  dispersion  of  the  vast  as- 
semblage, numbering  more  than  thirty  thousand 
persons,  and  the  streets  leading  to  the  city  were  filled 
with  returning  people. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Mr.  Hall,  the 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Fair  Association,  com- 
pleted counting  the  receipts  of  the  day  and,  in  re- 
sponse to  a  question  from  the  writer,  he  stated  that 
the  day's  revenue  was  only  a  fraction  less  than 
#10,000.  This  money  he  placed  in  a  large  tin  box, 
which  he  instructed  his  assistant  to  carry  to  the  First 
National  Bank  for  deposit.  The  young  man  left  the 
secretary's  headquarters  about  ten  minutes  after  four 
o'clock,  and  in  fifteen  minutes  afterward  a  big  rush 
*  toward  the  gates  indicated  that  some  unusual  inci- 
dent had  occurred.  The  writer  ran  rapidly  in  the  di- 
rection taken  by  the  crowd,  and  at  the  entrance 
gates,  which  are  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  main  buildings,  he  soon  learned  the  cause  of  so 
much  excitement.  As  the  young  man  with  the 
treasure  box  was  passing  through  the  gate,  three 
horsemen  rode  swiftly  up  to  him,  and  one  of  them 
leaping  to  the  ground,  snatched  the  box  and  handed 
it  to   his   mounted   companion.      The  young  man 


> 

z 
en 
> 

H 

31 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  157 

shouted  lustily  for  help,  and  though  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  dozens  of  men  leaving  the  grounds,  no 
one  seemed  to  think  of  attempting  to  arrest  the  rob- 
bers. The  three  mounted  outlaws  rode  through  the 
crowd  with  such  recklessness,  that  a  little  girl,  about 
ten  years  of  age,  was  badly  trampled,  but  not  fatally 
injured,  her  left  hip  being  lacerated  severely.  As 
the  bandits  repeatedly  fired  their  pistols,  for  a  time 
it  was  thought  the  little  girl  was  struck  by  a  bullet, 
but  this  accident  was  the  only  casualty.  Before  the 
hundreds  of  surprised  witnesses  of  the  struggle 
could  recover  from  their  fright,  the  three  daring 
highwaymen  sped  away  like  the  wind,  carrying  the 
#10,000  with  them. 

The  excitement  following  the  robbery  was  intense, 
and  every  one  seemed  to  have  distinct  suspicions  as 
to  who  the  bandits  were.  The  police,  detectives, 
and  the  sheriff  with  several  deputized  citizens,  went 
in  pursuit  of  the  robbers  before  night  approached, 
and  they  had  no  difficulty  in  following  the  trail  for  a 
distance  of  ten  miles,  when  the  tracks  faded  like  fog 
lifted  by  a  heavy  wind  ;  the  outlaws  had  entered 
their  mysterious  cave  and,  while  counting  their  sud- 
den gain,  laughed  at  the  foiled  pursuers. 

From  confessions  since  made  by  members  of  the 
gang,  it  has  been  definitely  ascertained  that  the  three 
desperate  outlaws  were  Jesse  and  Frank  James  and 
Bob  Younger,  and  that  the  party  who  dismounted 
and  grabbed  the  cash  box,  was  Jesse  James. 

Some  time  after  the  robbery,  the  latter  wrote  a 


158  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

card,  which  was  published  in  the  Kansas  City  Times, 
denying  his  connection  with  the  robbery,  and  ac- 
cused Cole  Younger  of  acting  the  principal  part  in 
the  daring  outrage, "but  regardless  of  his  proffered 
proof  of  an  alibi,  the  perpetrators  were  certainly  the 
three  named  ;  at  least  the  most  satisfactory  evidence 
obtainable  so  indicates. 


THE  STE.  GENEVIEVE,  MO.,  BANK 
ROBBERY. 

Every  robbery  thus  far  had  been  consummated 
with  such  signal  success,  that  the  outlaws  could  not 
long  remain  idle,  for  the  love  of  money  increased 
with  its  accummulation,  just  as  the  love  of  adventure 
grew  greater  with  successful  accomplishment.  Be- 
fore the  winter  ended,  Jim  Younger  and  Frank  James 
left  their  hiding  place  in  Jackson  county  and  made  a 
trip  through  the  northwest,  going  through  Omaha 
and  as  far  west  as  Cheyenne,  where  they  remained 
for  a  considerable  time  prospecting  for  opportunities. 
They  both  had  relatives  in  California,  and  as  ship- 
ments of  gold  over  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  from 
San  Francisco  were  frequent,  the  purpose  of  the 
two  bandits  was,  doubtless,  to  ascertain  the  date  of 
contemplated  express  shipments  of  treasure.  Dur- 
ing their  stay  in  Cheyenne,  Cole  and  Bob  Younger, 
Jesse  James,  Bill  Chadwell,  alias  Styles,  and  Clell 
Miller,  conceived  and  definitely  arranged  a  plan  to 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  159 

rob  the  Savings  Association  at  Ste.  Genevieve,  Mis- 
souri. In  pursuance  of  their  arrangements,  the  five 
bandits  left  Jackson  county  about  the  1st  of  May, 
1873,  and  stopped  a  short  time  at  a  country  place  a 
few  miles  south  of  Springfield.  From  here  they 
went  to  Bismarck,  on  the  Iron  Mountain  Railroad, 
but  remained  there  only  one  day.  From  this  latter 
point  they  rode  through  Ste.  Genevieve  county  and 
on  the  morning  of  May  twenty-seventh,  the  five  out- 
laws appeared  in  the  old  Catholic  town,  three  enter- 
ing from  the  south  and  two  from  the  north. 

It  was  shortly  after  nine  o'clock  when  the  bandits 
made  their  appearance,  and  as  three  of  them  entered 
the  bank  they  found  no  one  inside  except  the  cash- 
ier, O.  D.  Harris,  Esq.,  and  a  son  of  Hon.  Firman  A. 
Rozier,  the  president.  No  time  was  given  for  par- 
ley ;  the  robbers  presented  their  pistols  at  the  cash- 
ier and  comrrianded  him  to  open  the  safe.  Young 
Rozier  comprehended  the  situation  at  once,  and  as 
none  of  the  pistols  were  covering  him,  he  ran  down 
the  steps  and  through  the  street  rapidly,  calling  for 
help.  The  two  bandits  who  stood  guard  outside 
fired  three  times  at  the  fleeing  boy,  one  bullet  pass- 
ing through  his  coat,  but  doing  no  bodily  injury. 
Mr.  Harris  appreciating  the  critical  position  he  occu- 
pied, accepted  the  more  sensible  alternative  and 
opened  the  safe  door,  permittingthe  outlaws  to  se- 
cure all  the  funds  then  in  the  bank,  amounting  to 
four  thousand  one  hundred  dollars.  This  money, 
much  of  which  was  silver,  they  threw  into  a  sack, 


160  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

and  mounting  their  horses  decamped.  Before  get- 
ting out  of  town  the  bandit  who  carried  the  sack,  by 
some  means,  let  his  treasure  fall  to  the  ground,  which 
necessitated  his  return  for  it.  All  the  five  robbers 
came  together  here,  and  four  of  them  halted  in  the 
road  while  the  fifth  one  dismounted  for  the  treasure 
sack;  in  the  attempt  to  remount,  his  horse  became 
frightened  and  broke  away,  running  some  distance 
north.  At  this  juncture  a  German  came  riding  into 
town,  and  the  mounted  bandits  by  direful  threats 
compelled  him  to  ride  after  and  secure  the  fugitive 
horse,  which  he  accomplished  after  considerable  de- 
lay. In  the  meantime  a  posse  of  citizens  gathered, 
and  obtaining  horses  quickly,  they  went  in  pursuit  of 
the  robbers,  whom  they  came  up  with  within  a  mile 
of  the  town.  There  was  an  exchange  of  shots  which 
halted  the  citizens,  and  after  this  the  outlaws  were 
not  again  approached. 

The  bold  desperadoes,  in  order  to  exasperate  the 
authorities,  it  would  appear,  marked  their  trail  by 
leaving  sign  boards  in  their  wake  on  which  they 
would  inscribe  the  day  and  hour  they  were  at  the 
spot  indicated  by  the  board.  On  the  30th  of  May 
the  robbers  rode  into  Hermann,  Missouri,  and  stopped 
for  dinner,  telling  the  people  of  the  place  who  they 
were,  and  performing  other  dare-devil  acts  which  set 
the  authorities  after  them  in  a  state  of  fury.  The  chase 
continued  for  weeks,  it  being  joined  in  by  several 
detectives  from  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  who  arrested 
dozens  of  "  suspicious  characters,"  only  to  find  they 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  161 

had  the  wrong  men.  It  was  thus  the  chase  ended,  as 
all  the  other  attempts  to  arrest  the  bandits  had  ter- 
minated. 

The  Savings  Association  at  Ste.  Genevieve  was 
one  of  the  strongest  banks-  in  the  State,  carrying  a 
deposit  of  over  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  con- 
tinually during  the  period  of  its  active  existence. 
At  the  time  of  the  raid  the  bank  was  winding  up  its 
business,  and  to  facilitate  this,  the  capital  and  funds 
were  deposited  with  the  Merchants'  Bank  of  St. 
Louis,  and  all  the  deposits  had  been  drawn  out. 
But  for  this  fact  the  robbery  would  have  resulted,  as 
the  bandits,  no  doubt,  anticipated,  in  a  magnificent  ap- 
propriation. 


ROBBING  A  TRAIN  IN  IOWA. 

When  the  five  outlaws  reached  Jackson  county 
from  Ste.  Genevieve,  they  found  Frank  James  and 
Jim  Younger  in  waiting  with  a  plan  perfected  for 
collecting  treasure  which  they  had  learned  would  be 
shipped  over  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  reaching 
Omaha  on  the  morning  of  July  2ist.  How  they 
obtained  this  information  can  only  be  conjectured 
from  facts  already  given.  Their  trip  to  Cheyenne, 
therefore,  had  resulted  very  satisfactorily,  and  the 
band  made  immediate  preparations  to  profit  by  the 
news.  Accordingly,  on  the  1 2th  of  July,  the  party 
of  seven  left  their  secret  haunts  and  mounted  911 
11 


162  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

excellent  horses,  they  set  out  for  the  neighborhood 
of  Council  Bluffs,  reaching  their  destination  about 
the  1 8th.  Frank  James  and  Cole  Younger  visited 
Omaha  to  learn  what  they  could  respecting  the  treas- 
ure which  was  expected,  and  by  what  road  it  would 
be  sent  east  from  Council  Bluffs.  They  returned  to 
their  waiting  comrades  on  the  2 1st,  and  in  the  after- 
noon arrangements  were  made  for  wrecking  the 
evening  passenger  train  on  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island 
&  Pacific  Railroad.  The  spot  selected  for  this  pur- 
pose was  about  five  miles  west  of  Adair,  a  small 
town  in  Adair  county,  where  there  is  a  sharp  curve 
in  the  road  which  obscures  the  rails  sixty  yards  in 
advance  of  the  engine.  The  outlaws  hitched  their 
horses  some  distance  from  the  track  out  of  sight 
from  the  train,  and  procuring  a  spike-bar  loosened 
one  of  the  rails.  To  this  loose  rail  they  tied  a  rope 
leading  several  yards  out  into  the  grass,  where  they 
concealed  themselves.  The  passenger  train  consist- 
ed of  seven  coaches,  including  the  two  sleepers,  and 
was  due  at  the  point  of  ambush  at  8:30  p.  m.  John 
Rafferty  was  in  charge  of  the  engine  and  was  look- 
ing sharply  along  the  curve  when  he  saw  the  rail 
move  out  of  place.  He  instantly  reversed  the  lever, 
but  the  distance  was  so  short,  while  the  momentum 
of  the  train  was  so  great,  that  the  engine  plunged 
through  the  break  and  turned  over,  while  the  coaches 
piled  on  top  of  one  another  in  direful  confusion.  The 
engineer  was  instantly  killed  and  a  dozen  passengers 
seriously  injured.     Notwithstanding  this  result,  the 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  163 

robbers  quickly  boarded  the  wreck,  two  of  them  en- 
tering the  express  car,  while  the  others  forced  the 
excited  and  demoralized  passengers  to  deliver  up  all 
their  money  and  valuables.  The  express  messenger 
was  made  to  open  the  safe  and  give  the  bandits 
what  money  he  had  in  charge,  but  the  amount  was 
small,  consisting  of  about  three  thousand  dollars. 
From  the  passengers  nearly  as  much  more  was  ob- 
tained. This  was  a  bitter  disappointment  to  the  out- 
laws, for  they  confidently  expected  to  find  not  less 
than  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  gold,  as  reported. 
Fortunately  the  bandits  were  twelve  hours  too  soon, 
as  on  the  following  day  the  express  carried  over  the 
same  road  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  in  gold. 

After  securing  all  the  booty  possible,  the  seven 
daring  wreckers  waved  their  hats  and  shouted  fare- 
well to  their  victims,  and  gaining  their  horses,  they 
rode  away  to  the  south. 

The  excitement  created  over  this  dreadful  outrage 
was  very  great  and  hundreds  volunteered  to  assist  in 
apprehending  the  desperadoes.  The  trail  led  straight 
through  Missouri  and  to  the  Missouri  river,  where 
there  was  unmistakable  evidence  that  the  outlaws 
swam  the  stream  with  their  horses.  Following  the 
track  on  the  other  side,  the  band  was  followed  into 
Jackson  county,  where,  as  usual,  every  trace  disap- 
peared. A  party  of  detectives  went  down  to  Mone- 
gaw  springs  in  search  of  the  outlaws  and  found  Jesse 
James  and  two  of  the  Younger  Boys,  but  they  made 
no  effort  to  bring  them  away  and  were  glad  to  es- 
cape themselves  alive. 


164  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

Cole  Younger  has  always  strenuously  denied  any 
participation  in  the  wrecking  of  the  train,  and  the 
writer  confesses  to  a  reluctance  in  believing  he  was 
present.  The  facts,  as  gathered  from  available 
sources,  sometimes  doubtful,  are  given  here  without 
any  pretention  to  positiveness.  The  narrative  is  in 
accordance  with  the  generally  accepted  belief. 

On  the  day  after  the  robbery  five  of  the  bandits, 
or,  at  least,  believed  to  be  them,  took  dinner  at  the 
house  of  a  farmer  named  Stuckeye,  in  Ringgold 
county.     He  described  these  men  as  follows: 

No.  I.  Seemed  to  be  a  kind  of  leader;  five  feet 
seven  or  eight  inches  tall,  light  hair,  blue  eyes,  heavy 
sandy  whiskers,  broad  shoulders,  short  nose,  a  little 
turned  up ;  high,  broad  forehead  ;  looked  to  be  a 
well-educated  man  not  used  to  work;  age,  thirty-six 
to  forty. 

No.  2.  Tall  and  lithe,  with  light  complexion,  high 
forehead,  light  brown  hair,  long,  light  whiskers,  al- 
most sandy,  long,  slender  hands  that  certainly  had 
not  done  much  hard  work,  nose  a  prominent  Roman. 
He  was  very  polite  and  talked  but  little.  Looked 
thirty-six  years  old. 

No.  3.  Slender,  five  feet  nine  or  ten  inches  tall, 
hair  cut  short  and  of  a  light  brown  color,  straight 
nose,  uncouth  and  sarcastic  in  speech,  brown  eyes, 
and  wearing  a  hard,  dissipated  countenance.  Mid- 
dle-aged, and  wore  dark  clothes. 

No.  4.  Dark  complexion,  dark  hair,  clean  shaved, 
five  feet  eight  inches  tall,  heavy  set,  straight,  black 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  16$ 

eyes,  straight  nose,  good  looking,  but  appeared  dis- 
sipated. Middle-aged,  and  wore  light  pants,  hat  and 
vest  and  dark  coat. 

No.  5.  Five  feet  ten  inches  tall,  large,  broad 
shoulders,  straight,  blue  eyes,  reddish  whiskers. 
Roman  nose.  Middle-aged,  and  very  pleasant  in 
appearance. 

These  descriptions  answer  for  Frank  and  Jesse 
James,  Clell  Miller  and  Jim  and  Bob  Younger;  where 
the  other  two  bandits  were  at  this  time,  it  is  difficult 
to  surmise,  especially  since  it  is  positively  known 
that  the  seven  were  together  when  they  rode  through 
Missouri. 

Jack  Bishop,  in  a  card  in  the  Kansas  City  Times, 
accused  Ike  Flannery  of  being  one  of  the  band,  but 
this  accusation  might  have  readily  proceeded  from 
some  prejudice  or  other  motive.  The  public  will, 
perhaps,  never  learn  positively  each  member  of  the 
band  that  wrecked  the  passenger  train,  for  the  act 
was  so  disgraceful  and  monstrous,  displaying  neither 
bravery  nor  cunning,  that  circumstances  can  hardly 
induce  any  of  the  party  to  make  a  confession  of  the 
crime  and  name  his  accomplices. 


THE  HOT  SPRINGS  STAGE  ROBBERY. 

After  the  train  wrecking  in  Iowa  there  was  an- 
other long  period  of  inactivity  among  the  bandits. 
The  James  and  Younger  Boys  were   frequently  seen 


166  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

by  Intimate  acquaintances  in  Jackson  and  Clay  coun- 
ties ;  they  also  spent  a  considerable  time  in  Texas,  but 
committed  no  new  depredations  until  the  beginning 
of  1874.  By  this  time  their  money  was  probably 
well  nigh  exhausted,  as  all  the  band  were  known  to 
be  high  livers  during  their  periods  of  plenty.  Dur- 
ing the  holidays  of  1873,  the  outlaws  proposed  other 
schemes  for  plunder,  and  by  New  Year's  day  of  1874, 
they  had  perfected  their  plans  for  three  robberies, 
which  were  accomplished  according  to  programme. 
When  they  left  their  haunts,  Bob  Younger  and  Jesse 
James  went  to  Louisiana,  while  Frank  Ja.mes,  Cole 
and  Jim  Younger,  Arthur  McCoy  and  Clell  Miller 
remained  together  to  carry  out  their  designs  for  rob- 
bing the  stage  running  between  Malvern  and  Hot 
Springs,  Arkansas.  On  the  15th  of  January,  the 
Sve  bandits  left  Hot  Springs,  where  they  had  re- 
mained the  previous  night,  and  secreted  themselves 
near  the  stage  roadside,  five  miles  east  of  the  town. 
At  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  the  heavy  Con- 
cord stage  with  two  ambulances  and  fourteen  passen- 
gers, came  lumbering  over  the  rough  road  enroute 
for  the  Springs.  When  the  stage  came  nearly  abreast 
of  the  robbers,  they  suddenly  rose  out  of  their  hid- 
ing-place and,  presenting  their  pistols,  sternly  com- 
manded the  driver  to  halt.  Frank  James  acted  as 
leader  and  was  the  one  who  gave  the  order.  The 
driver,  thoroughly  frightened  by  the  appearance  of 
the  bandits,  drew  rein  quickly  and  became  a  quiet 
spev  tator  of  the  proceedings  that  followed. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  167 

The  outlaws  soon  informed  the  astonished  passen- 
gers the  occasion  for  such  authoritative  actions  on 
their  part,  by  ordering  the  immediate  vacating  of  the 
vehicles.  Obedience  became  a  stern  necessity  under 
the  pressure  of  so  many  deadly  appearing  weapons, 
and  when  the  passengers  stepped  out,  they  were  or- 
dered to  form  a  line  along  the  road,  then  the  most 
interesting  part  of  the  programme  began  to  take 
place. 

Jim  Younger  and  Clell  Miller  acted  as  examining 
experts,  while  the  other  outlaws  maintained  guard. 
To  more  thoroughly  intimidate  the  already  almost 
insensible  travelers,  a  conversation  was  carried  on 
between  the  bandits,  well  calculated  to  freeze  the 
slow-flowing  blood  of  their  victims.  Each  individual 
was  robbed  of  every  cent  that  could  be  found  and 
their  watches  were  also  appropriated.  A  Mr.  Tay- 
lor, of  Boston,  who  had  the  unmistakable  appear- 
ance of  a  "  down  easter,"  was  persecuted  by  the 
threats  made  against  his  life,  and  ex-Governor  Bur- 
bank,  of  Dakotah,  was  about  to  be  executed  on  the 
suspicion  that  he  was  a  detective,  but  bloodshed  was 
averted;  it  may  never  have  been  contemplated,  and 
the  threats  were  probably  intended  only  to  frighten. 

One  of  the  passengers  betrayed  a  Southern  nativ- 
ity by  his  speech,  and  one  of  the  bandits  asked  him 
if  he  had  been  in  the  Southern  army  ;  receiving  an 
affirmative  reply,  together  with  satisfying  informa- 
tion concerning  his  regiment  and  company,  the  out- 
laws returned  the  money  and  valuables   taken  from 


1 68  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

him.  After  completing  the  robbery  and  securing 
about  #4,000,  Cole  Younger  made  a  brief  explana- 
tion of  the  causes  which  led  the  band  to  the  com- 
mission of  such  iniquities.  He  referred  to  the  re- 
morseless manner  in  which  he  and  his  parents  had 
been  harassed  and  despoiled  by  jayhawkers,  and 
how  he  had  been  pursued  after  the  war  until  forced 
to  become  an  outlaw.  The  entire  band  spoke  very 
vindictively  about  Pinkerton's  detectives  and  made 
many  threats  of  vengeance.  They  then  very  cour- 
teously bade  their  victims  an  adieu,  mounted  their 
horses  and  soon  disappeared  over  the  hills. 

When  the  stage  reached  Hot  Springs,  a  full  re- 
port of  the  robbery  was  made,  but  owing  to  the  al- 
most inaccessible  condition  of  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, little  or  no  effort  was  made  to  capture  the  high- 
waymen. 


ROBBING  A  TRAIN  AT  GAD'S  HILL. 

Finding  that  the  stage  robbery  had  created  little 
excitement,  the  band  did  not  delay  long  in  accom- 
plishing the  second  plan  they  had  arranged  one 
month  before  in  Jackson  county.  After  taking  a 
northwest  direction  and  going  into  a  familiar  settle- 
ment in  southern  Missouri  near  the  Arkansas  line, 
they  took  a  resting  spell  of  nearly  two  weeks,  and 
then  rode  to  Gad's  Hill,  a  small  station  on  the  Iron 
Mountain    Railroad    in    Wayne    county,    Missouri. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  169 

They  made  hasty  preparations  to  rob  the  Little  Rock 
express  train,  which  was  due  at  Gad's  Hill  shortly 
before  six  o'clock  p.  m.  The  station  contained  a 
population  of  not  more  than  a  dozen  persons,  and 
the  country  about  was  very  sparsely  settled,  so  that 
no  danger  of  interference  was  anticipated  from  the 
neighborhood.  Their  first  precaution  was  to  make  a 
prisoner  of  the  station  agent  and  the  five  other  men 
found  about  the  station.  The  switch  was  then  turned 
so  as  to  force  a  stoppage  of  the  train  should  it  at- 
tempt to  pass  by.  Clell  Miller  then  secured  the 
signal  flag  and  planted  it  in  the  center  of  the  track, 
after  which  the  bandits  awaited  the  coming  of  their 
victims.  Promptly  on  time  the  train  rattled  along 
the  track,  and  the  engineer  seeing  the  flag  closed 
the  throttle  valve  and  brought  the  heavy  passenger 
coaches  to  a  standstill  alongside  the  little  platform- 
The  conductor,  Mr.  Alvord,  stepped  off  one  of  the 
cars  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  signal,  but  at  the 
same  moment  he  was  confronted  by  a  revolver  in  the 
hands  of  Frank  James  and  made  to  surrender.  The 
outlaws  were  then  posted,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
train,  another  covering  the  engineer  and  prisoners, 
while  the  other  two  went  through  the  coaches,  and 
by  fierce  threats  and  more  dangerous  revolvers  com- 
pelled all  the  passengers  in  the  first-class  car  and  the 
sleepers  to  disgorge  their  money  and  valuables.  Af 
ter  completing  the  robbery  of  the  passengers,  the 
express  car  was  next  raided,  obtaining  from  the  safe 
one  thousand   and  eighty  dollars,  and  then  the  mail 


1 70  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

bags  were  cut  open  and  rifled,  one  registered  letter 
being  secured  which  contained  two  thousand  dollars 
in  currency.  The  money  and  valuables  obtained  ag- 
gregated nearly  twelve  thousand  dollars.  None  of 
the  bandits  entered  the  second-class  cars,  saying 
they  were  only  after  the  "  plug  hat  "  crowd.  South- 
ern men,  they  also  passed  over,  when  convinced  of 
the  fact.  During  the  robbery  the  band  talked  con- 
stantly, but  were  always  vigilant.  All  of  them  wore 
masks  made  of  calico  with  holes  cut  for  the  eyes. 
Only  one  of  them  had  an  overcoat,  and  it  was  this 
one  who  attended  to  the  switch  and  guarded  the 
prisoners.  When  he  fixed  the  forward  switch  he  had 
thrown  his  overcoat  down  on  the  track.  After  the 
robbery  was  over  they  brought  the  train  men  out, 
put  them  on  the  train  and  told  them  to  pull  out. 
After  the  train  started,  one  of  them  happened  to  dis- 
cover that  the  overcoat  was  still  lying  on  the  track, 
when  he  instantly  made  the  engineer  stop  until  the 
fellow  could  go  and  get  it.  The  amount  obtained 
from  the  passengers  was  nearly  two  thousand  dollars. 
As  usual,  there  was  a  great  deal  of  guessing  as  to 
who  the  robbers  were.  Entirely  reliable  parties  who 
had  known  all  the  men  named,  declared  positively 
that  two  of  the  Youngers,  that  is,  Cole  and  Bob,  or 
Cole  and  Jim,  were  with  Arthur  McCoy  and  Bill 
Greenwood  and  another  man  in  the  vicinity  for  a  day 
or  two  before  the  robbery.  That  they  were  the  same 
party  who  had  been  chased  up  from  Hot  Springs, 
and  that  an  hour  before  they  went  to  the  station  they 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  171 

all  had  blue  overcoats  on.  Other  circumstances 
strengthened  the  belief  that  these  were  the  men,  and 
of  course,  one  of  the  James  Boys  was  put  in  for  the 
fifth  man. 

Before  leaving,  the  robbers  left  the  following  flash 
account  of  the  affair  with  one  of  the  train  men : 

"  The  most  daring  on  record — the  southbound  train  on 
the  Iron  Mountain  Railroad  was  robbed  here  this  evening 

by  five  heavily  armed  men,  and  robbed  of dollars. 

The  robbers  arrived  at  the  station  a  few  minutes  before  the 
arrival  of  the  train,  and  arrested  the  station  agent  and  put 
him  under  guard,  then  threw  the  train  on  the  switch.  The 
robbers  were  all  large  men,  none  of  them  under  six  feet 
tall.  They  were  all  masked  and  started  in  a  southerly  di- 
rection after  they  had  robbed  the  train.  They  were  all 
mounted  on  fine  blooded  horses.  Tnere  is  a  hell  of  an  ex- 
citement in  this  part  of  the  country. 

"  [Signed]  Ira  A.  Merrill." 

Later  information  shows  that  Clell  Miller  and  Ar- 
thur McCoy  were  members  of  the  band,  but  there 
is  still  much  dispute  about  the  presence  of  Cole 
Younger,  though  the  preponderance  of  evidence 
points  to  him  as  being  one  of  the  band. 


THE  DEATH  OF  TWO  DETECTIVES. 

Plundering  the  train  at  Gad's  Hill  created  an  ex- 
citement never  before  equalled  in  eastern  Missouri ; 
armed  bodies  of  men  from  nearly  every  point  along 
the  Iron  Mountain  road  went  out  in  pursuit  of  the 
marauders,  stimulated   to  the   greatest   activity   by 


1 72  THE  B ORDER  0  UTLA  WS. 

large  rewards  offered  by  the  railroad  and  express 
companies  for  the  apprehension  of  the  robbers.  Sev- 
eral St.  Louis  detectives  engaged  in  the  search,  and 
Pinkerton  dispatched  two  of  his  best  men  to  the 
haunts  of  the  bandits.  These  officers  were  known  as 
Capt.  Allen,  alias  Lull,  and  James  Wright,  the  lat- 
ter having  been  in  the  Confederate  service  and 
claimed  to  be  acquainted  with  the  Younger  boys. 
At  Osceola,  Missouri,  the  two  detectives  engaged  the 
services  of  an  ex-deputy  sheriff  named  Edwin  B. 
Daniels,  and  together  the  three  penetrated  the  Mon- 
egaw  Springs  settlement,  where  the  Youngers  spent 
much  of  their  time. 

After  leaving  Osceola  the  official  trio  assumed  the 
character  of  cattle  dealers,  and  on  March  16th,  they 
set  out  on  the  road  for  Chalk  Level,  a  little  place 
about  fifteen  miles  northwest  of  Osceola.  On  the 
route  Lull  and  Daniels  stopped  at  the  farm-house  of 
Theodore  Snuffer,  a  distant  relative  of  the  Youngers, 
and  asked  for  directions  to  widow  Simms'  house. 
Wright  did  not  stop  with  his  companions,  but  rode 
on,  intending  to  spend  a  few  moments  with  an  ac- 
quaintance two  miles  west  of  Snuffer's. 

By  chance  John  and  Jim  Younger  were  stopping 
with  Mr.  Snuffer  at  the  time,  but  did  not  show  them- 
selves. They  listened  intently,  however,  and  after 
the  directions  were  given  as  requested,  they  saw  the 
detectives  take  a  contrary  road;  this  excited  the 
suspicion  of  the  two  Youngers,  and  they  decided  to 
watch  the  strangers.     For  this  purpose  they  mounted 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  173 

their  horses  and  followed  after  Lull  and  Daniels  for 
nearly  a  mile  before  coming  up  with  them.  The 
authentic  particulars  of  this  meeting  are  best  given  in 
the  ante-mortem  statement  made  by  Capt.  Allen, 
alias  Lull,  and  subscribed  to  before  justice  of  the 
peace  St.  Clair.     It  is  as  follows: 

Yesterday,  on  the  16th  of  March,  1874,  at  about  half 
past  two  o'clock  p.  m.,  E.  B.  Daniels  and  myself  were  riding 
along  the  road  from  Roscoe  to  Chalk  Level,  in  St.  Clair 
county,  which  road  leads  past  the  house  of  one  Theodore 
Snuffer.  Daniels  and  myself  were  riding  side  by  side,  and 
our  companion  Wright  was  a  short  distance  ahead  of  us ; 
some  noise  behind  us  attracted  our  attention,  and  looking 
back  we  saw  two  men  on  horseback  coming  toward  us ;  one 
was  armed  with  a  double-barrel  shot-gun,  the  other  with 
revolvers  ;  don't  know  if  the  other  had  a  shot-gun  or  not ; 
the  one  that  had  the  shot-gun  carried  it  cocked,  both  barrels, 
and  ordered  us  to  halt ;  Wright  drew  his  pistol  but  then 
put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  rode  off;  they  ordered  him  to 
halt,  and  shot  at  him  and  shot  off  his  hat,  but  he  kept  on 
riding.  Daniels  and  myself  stopped,  standing  across  the 
road  on  our  horses ;  they  rode  up  to  us,  and  ordered  us  to 
take  off  our  pistols  and  drop  them  in  the  road,  one 
of  them  covering  me  all  the  time  with  his  gun.  We 
dropped  our  pistols  on  the  ground,  and  one  of  the  men 
told  the  other  to  follow  Wright  and  bring  him  back,  but  he 
refused  to  go,  saying  he  would  stay  with  him ;  one  of  the 
men  then  picked  up  the  revolvers  we  had  dropped,  and 
looking  at  them,  remarked  they  were  damn  fine  pistols,  and 
that  we  must  make  them  a  present  of  them  ;  one  of  them 
asked  me  where  we  came  from,  and  I  said  M  Osceola ;"  he 
then  wanted  to  know  what  we  were  doing  in  this  part  of  the 
country;  I  replied,  "Rambling  around."  One  of  them 
then  said,  "  You  were  up  here  one  day  before/'  I  replied 
that  we  were  not.  He  then  said  we  had  been  at  the 
Springs.      I  replied    that    we  had  been   at    the  Springs, 


174  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

but  had  not  been  inquiring  for  them,  that  we  did  not  know 
them ;  they  said  detectives  had  been  up  there  hunting  for 
them  all  the  time,  and  they  were  going  to  stop  it.  Daniels 
then  said,  "  I  am  no  detective ;  I  can  show  you  who  I  am 
and  where  I  belong."  And  one  of  them  said  he  knew 
him,  and  then  turned  to  me  and  said,  "  What  in  the  hell  are 
you  riding  around  here  with  all  them  pistols  on  for  ?  "  and  I 
said,  "  Good  God !  is  not  every  man  wearing  them  that  is 
traveling,  and  have  I  not  as  much  right  to  wear  them  as 
any  one  else?  "  Then  the  one  that  had  the  shot-gun  said, 
"  Hold  on,  young  man,  we  don't  want  any  of  that,"  and 
then  lowered  the  gun,  cocked,  in  a  threatening  manner. 
Then  Daniels  had  some  talk  with  them,  and  one  of  them 
got  off  his  horse  and  picked  up  the  pistols ;  two  of  them 
were  mine  and  one  was  Daniels' ;  the  one  mounted  had  the 
gun  drawn  on  me,  and  I  concluded  that  they  intended  to  kill 
us.  I  reached  my  hand  behind  me  and  drew  a  No.  2 
Smith  &  Wesson  pistol  and  cocked  it  and  fired  at  the  one 
on  horseback ;  my  horse  became  frightened  at  the  report  of 
the  pistol  and  turned  to  run ;  then  I  heard  two  shots  and 
my  left  arm  fell ;  I  had  no  control  over  my  horse,  and  he 
jumped  into  the  bushes  before  I  could  get  hold  of  the  rein 
with  my  right  hand  to  bring  him  into  the  road ;  one  of  the 
men  rode  by  and  fired  two  shots  at  me,  one  of  which  took 
effect  in  my  left  side,  and  I  lost  all  control  of  my  horse 
again,  and  he  turned  into  the  brush,  when  a  small  tree 
struck  me  and  knocked  me  out  of  the  saddle.  I  then  got 
up  and  staggered  across  the  road  and  lay  down  until  I  was 
found.     No  one  else  was  present. 

W.  J.  ALLEN. 
Subscribed  and  sworn  to,  before  me,  this  18th  day  of 
March,  1874. 

JAMES  ST.  CLAIR. 

The  statement  of  Capt.  Allen  was  used  at  the 
coroner's  inquest  over  the  bodies  of  Daniels  and 
Younger,  and  the  examining  physicians  gave  the  fol- 
lowing testimony: 


o 

X 

z 

-< 

O 

c 
z  . 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS,  175 

All  we  know  concerning  the  death  of  the  two  men,  being 
the  same  that  the  inquest  is  being  held  over,  is  that  the  one, 
John  Younger,  came  to  his  death  from  the  effects  of  a  gun- 
shot wound,  which  entered  the  right  side  of  his  neck, 
touching  the  clavical  bone,  on  the  upper  side,  and  about 
two  inches  from  the  meridian,  went  nearly  straight  through 
the  neck  ;  the  orifice  is  small,  indicating  that  he  was  shot 
with  a  small  ball.  The  other  man,  Edwin  B.  Daniels,  came 
to  his  death  from  the  effect  of  a  gunshot  wound,  which  en- 
tered the  left  side  of  the  neck,  about  one  inch  from  the 
meridian  line,  and  about  midway  of  the  neck,  opposite  the 
aesophagus,  and  as  per  examination,  went  nearly  straight 
through  the  neck,  striking  the  bone;  the  orifice  was  pretty 
large,  indicating  that  the  ball  was  of  a  pretty  large  size. 

A.  C.  MARQUIS,  M.  D. 

L.  LEWIS,  M.  D. 
Subscribed  and  sworn   to  before  me,  this  18th  day  of 
March,  1874.  JAMES  ST.  CLAIR,  J.  P. 

The  jury,  with  A.  Ray  as  foreman,  submitted  a 
verdict  to  the  effect  that  Daniels  was  killed  by  James 
Younger,  and  that  John  Younger  met  his  death  at 
the  hands  of  W.  J.  Allen. 

Capt.  Allen  was  struck  very  hard  in  the  left  side, 
two  inches  above  the  hip  ;  he  was  carried  back  to 
Roscoe,  where  he  lingered  for  a  period  of  six  weeks, 
and  then  died,  surrounded  by  his  family  that  had 
come  to  him  from  Chicago  directly  after  the  shoot- 
ing. His  remains  were  enclosed  in  a  metallic  case 
and  returned  to  Chicago,  where  they  were  buried  with 
Masonic  honors.  Ed.  Daniels  was  laid  away  in  the 
little  churchyard  at  Osceola,'  while  John  Younger 
sleeps  under  a  neglected  mound  in  old  man  Snuffer's 
orchard. 


176  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 


ROBBING  A  TEXAS  STAGE. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  1874,  less  than  one  month 
after  the  killing  of  John  Younger,  the  stage  running 
between  Austin  and  San,  Antonio,  Texas,  was  robbed 
under  the  following  circumstances  :  On  the  day  in 
question,  the  regular  mail  stage,  carrying  eleven  pas- 
sengers, was  stopped  by  five  masked  bandits,  at 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  twenty-three  miles  from 
Austin.  They  advanced  to  meet  the  stage  and  each 
of  them  presenting  a  heavy  pistol,  forced  the  stage- 
driver  to  halt,  leave  his  seat  and  open  the  door  of 
the  vehicle.  Among  the  passengers  was  Mr.  Breck- 
enridge,  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
San  Antonio,  who  had  one  thousand  dollars  on  his 
person.  Bishop  Gregg,  of  the  same  city  was  also  in 
the  party,  and  three  ladies,  whose  fright  at  seeing 
such  a  display  of  fire-arms,  produced  a  panic  inside 
the  stage.  The  robbers  were  very  courteous,  but 
exacting,  forcing  an  immediate  compliance  with  their 
every  request.  All  the  passengers  were  made  to  get 
out  and  form  in  line,  in  the  rear  of  the  stage,  where 
they  were  examined  for  money  and  valuables  by  two 
of  the  bandits,  while  the  other  three  stood  guard 
over  their  victims.  The  ladies,  aside  from  the  re- 
spectful language  used  toward  them,  were  not  par- 
tially treated  by  the  outlaws,  but,  like  their  male  com- 
panions, they  were  persuaded,  by  the  peculiar  means 
of  the   robbers,   to   give   up   all   their   money  and 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  177 

watches.  The  total  amount  secured,  including  that 
gathered  from  the  mail-bags,  was  about  #3,000. 
Havi'ng  appropriated  all  the  valuables  the  passen- 
gers possessed,  the  bandits  cut  out  the  lead  span  of 
horses  and  taking  these  with  them,  they  rode  away 
rapidly  toward  the  north. 

The  loss  of  two  horses  so  delayed  the  stage  that 
it  was  not  until  four  o'clock  on  the  following  morn- 
ing that  it  reached  Austin  ;  this  prevented  an  early 
report  of  the  robbery,  so  that  fully  eighteen  hours 
had  elapsed  after  the  perpetration  of  the  outrage, 
before  the  sheriff,  with  ten  men,  went  in  pursuit. 
The  search  for  the  robbers  was  fruitless  for  more 
than  two  weeks,  the  trail,  seemingly,  being  thorough- 
ly covered.  After  the  sheriff  returned  home,  a  re- 
ward of  #500  was  offered  for  the  capture  of  the  ban- 
dits, and  some  time  afterwards  several  detectives 
came  upon  a  party  by  the  name  of  Jim  Reed,  whom 
they  suspected  of  having  been  one  of  the  robbers, 
and  in  their  efforts  to  arrest  him,  he  fought  his 
would-be  captors  until  mortally  wounded.  Before 
dying,  it  is  claimed,  that  he  confessed  to  a  participa- 
tion in  both  the  stage  and  Gad's  Hill  robberies.  In 
the  latter,  it  is  said,  his  companions  were  Arthur 
McCoy  and  Jim  Greenwood,  but  he  refused  to  di- 
vulge the  names  of  the  two  others. 

It  is  more  than  probable,  however,  judging  from 
later  circumstances  and  confessions,  that. Jim  Reed 
was  not  one  of  the  stage  robbers,  and  there  is  a  pre- 
vailing suspicion  that  he  never  made  any  such  con- 
12 


r;8  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS, 

fession  as  that  attributed  to  him.  There  are  hun- 
dreds who  maintain  that  the  robbers  were  Jesse  and 
Frank  James,  Clell  Miller,  Cole  Younger  and  Arthur 
McCoy.  The  facts,  however,  are  involved  in  such  a 
confusion  of  contradictory  claims  and  statements 
that  it  is  impossible  to  fix  the  robbery,  positively,  on 
any  special  persons. 

The  same  stage  was  robbed  again  two  years  later 
in  almost  the  identical  spot  and  manner  as  in  1874, 
the  robbers  securing  #2,000  and  escaping  without 
leaving  any  clue  of  their  identity. 


COLE  YOUNGER'S  EPISTOLARY 
VINDICATION. 

In  the  absence  of  positive  testimony  connecting 
the  Younger  brothers  with  all  the  robberies  charged 
to  them,  and  in  order  to  avoid  even  a  suspicion  that 
intentional  injustice  is  done  them  in  this  record  of 
their  lives,  the  writer,  in  a  special  correspondence 
with  Cole  Younger,  asked  him  to  make  a  written 
statement  embodying  his  proofs  and  denials  of  any 
and  all  the  crimes  with  which  he  and  his  brothers 
stand  charged  by  current  report,  offering  at  the  same- 
time  to  publish  it  in  full  in  this  work.  A  very  cour- 
teous reply  was  received,  in  which  reference  was 
made  to  a  letter  written  by  him  to  his  brother-in-law 
Lycurgus  Jones,  of  Cass  county,  and  published  in  the 
Pleasant  Hill  Review,  November  26th,  1874.     It  is 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  179 

but  an  act  of  justice  that  the  letter  be  reproduced 
in  this  connection.     It  is  as  follows : 

Cass  County,  November  15,  1874. 

Dear  Curg: — You  may  use  this  letter  in  your  own  way 
I  will  give  you  this  outline  and  sketch  of  my  whereabouts 
and  actions  at  the  time  of  certain  robberies  with  which  I  am 
charged.  At  the  time  of  the  Russellville  bank  robbery  I 
was  gathering  cattle  in  Ellis  county,  Texas :  cattle  that  I 
bought  from  Pleas  Taylor  and  Rector.  This  can  be  proved 
by  both  of  them  ;  also  by  Sheriff  Barkley  and  fifty  other  re- 
spectable men  of  that  county.  I  brought  the  cattle  to 
Kansas  that  fall  and  remained  in  St.  Clair  county  until 
February.  I  then  went  to  Arkansas  and  returned  to  St. 
Clair  county  about  the  first  of  May.  I  went  to  Kansas 
where  our  cattle  were,  in  Woodson  county,  at  Col.  Ridge's. 
During  the  summer  I  was  either  in  St.  Clair,  Jackson  or 
Kansas,  but  as  there  was  no  robbery  committed  that  sum- 
mer, it  makes  no  difference  where  I  was. 

The  gate  at  the  fair  grounds  at  Kansas  City  was  robbed 
that  fall.  I  was  in  Jackson  county  at  the  time.  I  left  R. 
P.  Rose's  that  morning,  went  down  the  Independence  road, 
stopped  at  Dr.  Noland's  and  got  some  pills.  Brother  John 
was  with  me.  I  went  through  Independence,  and  from 
there  to  Ace  Webb's.  There  I  took  dinner  and  then  went 
to  Dr.  L.  W.  Twiman's.  Staid  there  until  after  supper, 
then  went  to  Silas  Hudspeth's  and  stayed  all  night.  This 
was  the  day  the  gate  was  robbed  at  Kansas  City.  Next 
day  John  and  I  went  to  Kansas  City.  We  crossed  the 
river  at  Blue  Mills,  and  went  upon  the  other  side.  Our  bus- 
iness there  was  to  see  E.  P.  West.  He  was  not  at  home, 
but  the  family  will  remember  that  we  were  there.  We 
crossed  on  the  bridge,  stayed  in  the  city  all  night,  and  the 
next  morning  we  rode  up  through  the  city.  I  met  several 
of  my  friends,  among  them  was  Bob  Hudspeth.  We  then 
returned  to  the  Six-Mile  country  by  the  way  of  Independ- 
ence. At  Big  Blue  we  met  Jas.  Chiles  and  had  a  long  talk 
with  him.  I  saw  several  friends  that  were  standing  at  or  near 


1 80  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

the  gate,  and  they  all  said  they  didn't  know  any  of  the 
party  that  did  the  robbing.  Neither  John  nor  I  was  ac- 
cused of  the  crime  for  several  days  after.  My  name  would 
never  have  been  used  in  connection  with  the  affair,  had  not 
Jesse  W.  James,  for  some  cause,  best  known  to  himself,  pub- 
lished in  the  Kansas  City  Times,  a  letter  stating  that  John, 
myself  and  he  were  accused  of  the  robbery.  Where  he  got 
his  authority  I  don't  know,  but  one  thing  I  do  know,  he  had 
none  from  me.  We  were  not  on  good  terms  at  the  time, 
nor  haven't  been  for  several  years.  From  that  time  on 
mine  and  John's  names  have  been  connected  with  the  James 
brothers.  John  hadn't  seen  either  of  them  for  eighteen 
months  before  his  death.  And  as  for  A.  C.  McCoy,  John 
never  saw  him  in  his  life.  I  knew  A.  C.  McCoy  during  the 
war,  but  haven't  seen  him  since,  notwithstanding  the  Ap- 
pleton  City  paper  says  he  has  been  with  us  in  that  county 
for  two  years.  Now,  if  any  respectable  man  in  that  county 
will  say  he  ever  saw  A.  C.  McCoy  with  me  or  John,  I  will 
say  no  more ;  or  if  any  respectable  man  will  say  that  he 
ever  saw  any  one  with  us  who  suited  the  description  of  A. 
C.  McCoy,  then  I  will  be  silent  and  never  more  plead  in- 
nocence. 

McCoy  is  forty-eight  or  forty-nine  years  old ;  six  feet  and 
over  high ;  dark  hair  and  blue  eyes,  and  low  forehead. 

Poor  John,  he  has  been  hunted  down  and  shot  like  a 
wild  beast,  and  never  was  a  boy  more  innocent.  But  there 
is  a  day  coming  when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  will  be  laid 
open  before  that  All-seeing  eye,  and  every  act  of  our  lives 
will  be  scrutinized,  then  will  his  skirts  be  white  as  the  driven 
snow,  while  those  of  his  accusers  will  be  doubly  dark. 

I  will  now  come  to  the  Ste.  Genevieve  robbery.  At  that 
time  I  was  in  St.  Clair  county,  Missouri.  I  do  not  remem- 
ber the  date,  but  Mr.  Murphy,  one  of  our  neighbors,  was 
sick  about  that  time,  and  I  sat  up  with  him  regularly,  where 
I  met  with  some  of  the  neighbors  every  day.  Dr.  L.  Lewis 
was  his  physician. 

As  to  the  Iowa  train  robbery,  I  have  forgotten  the  day,  I 
was  also  in  St.  Clair  county,  Missouri,  at  that  time,  and  had 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  181 

the  pleasure  of  attending  preaching  the  evening  previous  to 
the  robbery,  at  Monegaw  Springs.  There  were  fifty  or  a 
hundred  persons  there  who  will  testify  in  any  court  that  I 
and  John  were  there.  I  will  give  you  the  names  of  some 
of  them  :  Simeon  C.  Bruce,  John  S.  Wilson,  James  Van- 
Allen,  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  and  lady.  Helvin  Fickle  and  lady  of 
Greenton  Valley,  were  attending  the  Springs  at  that  time, 
and  either  of  them  will  testify  to  the  above,  for  John  and  I 
sat  in  front  of  Mr.  Smith  while  he  was  preaching,  and  had 
the  pleasure  of  his  company  for  a  few  moments,  together 
with  his  lady,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fickle,  after  service.  They 
live  at  Greenton  Valley,  Lafayette  county,  Missouri,  and 
their  evidence  would  be  taken  in  the  Court  of  Heaven.  As 
there  was  no  other  robbery  committed  until  January,  I  will 
come  to  that  time.  About  the  last  of  December,  1873,  I 
arrived  in  Carroll  parish,  Louisiana.  I  stayed  there  until 
the  8th  of  February,  1874.  I  and  brother  stayed  at  Wm. 
Dickerson's,  near  Floyd.  Dickerson  was  Master  of  a  Ma- 
sonic lodge,  and  during  the  time  the  Shreveport  stage  and 
the  Hot  Springs  stage  were  robbed ;  also  the  Gad's  Hill 
robbery.  Now,  if  the  Governor  or  any  one  else  wants  to 
satisfy  himself  in  regard  to  the  above,  he  can  write  to  the 
Masonic  Fraternity,  Floyd,  Carroll  parish,  Louisiana.  I 
hope  the  leading  journals  will  investigate  the  matter,  and 
then,  if  they  find  I  have  misrepresented  anything,  they  can 
show  me  up  to  the  world  as  being  guilty,  but  if  they  find  it 
as  I  have  stated,  they  surely  would  have  no  objections  to 
state  the  facts  as  they  are. 

You  can  appeal  to  the  Governor  in  your  own  language, 
and  if  he  will  send  men  to  investigate  the  above,  and  is  not 
satisfied  of  my  innocence,  then  he  can  offer  the  reward  for 
Thos.  Coleman  Younger,  and  if  he  finds  me  to  be  innocent, 
he  can  make  a  statement  to  that  effect.  I  write  this  hur- 
riedly, and  I  suppose  I  have  given  outlines  enough.  I 
want  you  to  take  pains  and  write  a  long  letter  for  me  and 
sign  my  name  in  full. 

THOMAS  COLEMAN  YOUNGER. 


1 82  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

THE  TRAIN  ROBBERY  AT  MUNCIE,  KANS. 

Remaining  in  Texas  until  late  in  the  fall,  the  out- 
laws finding  no  special  divertisement  or  opportunity 
to  enrich  themselves,  decided  to  return  north  and 
put  into  operation  plans  for  robberies  which  would 
yield  large  results.  Through  their  communications 
with  one  another  and,  especially,  it  would  appear, 
with  accomplices  in  the  extreme  West,  it  was  learned 
that  a  large  amount  of  money  and  gold  dust  would 
be  shipped  from  Denver  to  the  east,  via  the  Kansas 
Pacific  Railroad,  on  the  1 2th  of  December  follow- 
ing. A  scheme  was  at  once  devised  for  the  intercep- 
tion and  appropriation  of  the  treasure.  To  accom- 
plish this  design,  the  band,  consisting  of  Cole  and 
Bob  Younger,  Jesse  and  Frank  James,  and  Clell  Mil- 
ler, took  into  their  confidence  a  worthless  fellow  in 
Kansas  City,  named  Bud  McDaniels.  There  is  an- 
other story  to  the  effect  that  McDaniels  had  learned 
of  the  intended  valuable  shipment  through  a  friend 
in  Denver,  and  that,  communicating  this  knowledge 
to  the  bandits  named,  the  six  then  confederated  to- 
gether, with  pledges  of  confidence,  to  accomplish 
the  robbery. 

On  the  13th  of  December,  the  outlaws,  being  well 
mounted,  left  Jackson  county  without  the  discovery 
having  been  made  of  their  presence  in  the  locality, 
and  rode  over  to  Wyandotte  county.  The  localities 
along  the  railroad  were  inspected  for  the  purpose  of 
selecting  the  most  available  place  for  the  successful 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  183 

perpetration  of  the  crime  then  in  contemplation. 
The  spot  finally  chosen  was  one  mile  east  of  Muncie, 
Kansas,  and  five  miles  west  of  Kansas  City.  This 
selection  was  made  because  there  was  a  water-tank 
at  the  place  at  which  trains  almost  invariably  stopped, 
and  because  the  Kaw  river  ran  alongside  the  road, 
with  a  margin  of  heavy  timber  and  brush,  in  which 
the  bandits  secreted  themselves,  after  placing  a  pile 
of  old  ties  on  the  track,  to  await  the  train  which  was 
due  at  4:45  in  the  afternoon.  They  had  been  under 
cover  only  a  short  time,  when  a  bank  of  smoke  in 
the  distance  and  the  singing  sound  that  ran  along  the 
rails,  signalled  the  approaching  train.  It  happened, 
on  that  particular  occasion,  the  engine  did  not  re- 
quire water  and  would  have  run  by  had  not  the  engi- 
neer discovered  a  pile  of  ties  on  the  track,  which 
compelled  a  stop.  At  the  moment  the  train  came  to 
a  stand-still,  the  robbers  sprang  from  out  their  hid- 
ing-place and  advancing  with  menacing  weapons, 
forced  a  compliance  with  their  demands.  Each  one 
of  the  bandits  was  thoroughly  masked  and  their  ap- 
pearance indicated  determination.  One  of  these, 
since  believed  to  have  been  McDaniels,  covered  the 
engineer  and  fireman  with  his  pistols,  while  the  others 
distributed  themselves  among  the  passengers  and  the 
express  car.  They  uncoupled  and  made  the  engi- 
neer pull  the  express  car  forward  about  one  hundred 
feet,  when  they  forced  the  messenger  to  open  the 
safe,  and  took  about  #30,000  in  currency  and  #25,000 
worth  of  gold  dust.      They  also  robbed  some  of  the 


1 84  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

passengers  of  money,  but  left  them  their  watches. 
There  was  some  jewelry  in  the  express  car  which  the 
thieves  took,  however,  and  this  furnished  the  evi- 
dence which  gave  them  away  in  a  short  time.  The 
horses  of  the  gang  were  hitched  in  a  little  clump  of 
brush  in  plain  sight  of  the  train,  and  after  they  had 
done,  the  passengers  saw  them  run  across  the  inter- 
vening open  ground  and  mount  their  horses  with  the 
sack  full  of  plunder.  They  rode  away  and  crossed 
the  Kaw  river  bridge,  passing  within  five  miles  of 
Kansas  City.  Late  that  evening  they  overtook  a 
man  named  Steele  and  made  him  exchange  horse* 
with  one  of  them. 

After  the  train  reached  Kansas  City  due  report 
was  made  of  the  robbery  and  an  armed  band  of 
about  twenty-five  persons  went  in  pursuit.  The  track 
was  easily  found  and  on  the  day  following,  the  sher- 
iffs posse  traced  the  bandits  through  Westport, 
Jackson  county,  and  discovered  the  spot,  five  mileg 
south-east  of  that  place,  where  they  had  camped, 
and  doubtless  divided  their  booty. 

The  robbers  made  directly  for  their  secret  haunts 
on  the  Blue,  however,  and  further  search  by  the  au- 
thorities proved  unavailing. 

The  old  band  of  outlaws  was  immediately  charged 
with  the  crime,  chiefly  because  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  robbery  was  completed ;  the  well-known, 
distinguishing  marks  of  the  bandits  so  familiar  with 
that  section,  afforded  almost  conclusive  evidence, 
though  the  circumstantial  testimony  would  never  have 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  185 

been  sufficient  for  the  conviction  of  any  of  the  old 
band,  had  they  been  arrested. 

Two  days  after  the  robbery  Bud  McDaniels  hired 
a  horse  and  buggy  in  Kansas  City  for  the  purpose  of 
treating  his  girl  to  a  ride.  Proceeding  to  her  house, 
he  found  she  was  absent,  and  being  much  provoked, 
he  drank  frequently  and  was  soon  driving  through 
the  streets  in  a  very  reckless  manner,  indicative  of  a 
decidedly  drunken  condition.  He  was  at  length  ar- 
rested by  the  police,  and  on  searching  him  at  the  sta- 
tion-house preparatory  to  locking  him  up  to  sober 
off,  they  found  on  him  #1,034  in  money,  two  revolv- 
ers and  some  jewelry,  which  he  said  he  had  bought 
to  give  his  girl.  His  statement  as  to  where  he 
bought  it  was  not  very  definite,  and,  besides,  the  de- 
scription of  the  jewelry  taken  from  the  train  had 
been  furnished  to  the  police.  Suspicion  was  instant- 
ly aroused,  and  investigation  resulted  in  the  positive 
identification  of  the  jewelry.  It  was  also  found  that 
Bud  had  been  out  of  town.  The  case  was  too  clear. 
He  had  to  go  back  to  Kansas  to  stand  his  trial.  He 
had  a  preliminary  examination  and  was  held  to  an- 
swer before  the  grand-jury.  He  had  refused  to 
breathe  a  word  about  his  confederates. 

McDaniels  was  confined  for  a  considerable  time  in 
the  Lawrence  jail ;  when  he  was  taken  out  by  a 
deputy  sheriff,  who  attempted  to  conduct  him  to  the 
court-house  for  trial;  McDaniels  made  a  break  and 
succeeded  in  escaping.  After  enjoying  his  liberty 
for  about  one  week,  he   was   discovered,  and  in  the 


1 86  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

effort  to  again  arrest  him,  the  officers,  meeting  with 
resistance,  one  of  them  shot  him  dead. 


THE  HUNTINGTON,  VIRGINIA,  BANK 
ROBBERY. 

After  the  train  robbery  there  was  a  short  sepa- 
ration of  the  outlaws,  some  going  to  Texas  and 
others  proceeding  east,  where  identification  was  less 
liable,  for  the  purpose  of  enjoying  the  sights  of  New 
York  and  Washington.  Each  of  the  band  was  now 
provided  with  sufficient  wealth  to  dissipate  every  de- 
sire, for  the  time,  except  the  best  and  most  enjoyable 
means. for  spending  it. 

During  a  short  residence  in  the  East,  Cole  Younger 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  a  sharp,  black-eyed  fel- 
low who  went  by  the  name  of  Jack  Keen,  alias  Tom 
Webb.  This  man  had  spent  many  years  in  Ken- 
tucky and  West  Virginia,  being  at  all  times  a  suspi- 
cious character,  and  it  was  he  who  proposed  the 
robbery  of  the  bank  at  Huntington.  Cole  Younger 
and  Frank  James  considered  the  proposition,  and 
meeting  Tom,  or  Tomlinson  McDaniels,  a  brother  of 
Bud's,  at  Petersburgh,  they  laid  the  scheme  before 
him,  and  then  the  four  concluded  to  raid  the  bank. 

The  plan  for  the  robbery  being  perfected,  the 
bandits  decided  to  wait  until  fall,  when  the  bank 
would  probably  carry  a  large  amount  of  money  for 
the  handling  of  the  harvests. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  187 

On  the  first  of  September,  1&75,  the  well  armed 
and  mounted  quartette  rode  into  Huntington,  each 
wearing  a  long  linen  ulsterette  over  a  heavy  fall 
coat.  They  made  directly  for  the  bank,  where  two 
of  them  dismounted,  leaving  the  other  pair  on  horse- 
back to  clear  the  streets  of  people.  The  latter  two 
then  opened  a  fusillade  with  their  pistols,  driving 
every  one  indoors,  while  their  companions  entered 
the  bank,  and  with  presented  pistols  forced  the  cash- 
ier, R.  T.  Oney,  to  open  the  vault.  One  of  the  ban- 
dits kept  his  pistol  pointed  at  the  cashier  and  a 
citizen,  who  chanced  to  be  in  the  bank  at  the  time, 
to  prevent  an  outcry,  while  the  other  searched  the 
safe  and  drawers  carefully,  from  which  he  gathered 
about  ten  thousand  dollars.  Having  secured  all 
the  funds  of  the  bank,  the  two  ran  out  and  gave  a 
shrill  whistle.  The  others  responded  quickly, 
bringing  up  the  two  horses  for  the  dismounted 
bandits.  Then  succeeded  the  clatter  of  fast  speed- 
ing horses'  feet  as  the  outlaws  dashed  out  of  town, 
to  be  pursued  a  few  hours  afterward  by  twenty  reso- 
lute men,  while  telegrams  were  sent  in  every  direc- 
tion for  the  interception  of  the  robbers.  The  pursuit 
then  began  with  remarkable  earnestness,  posses  of 
armed  citizens  joining  in  the  chase  from  every 
direction.  The  outlaws  had  frequent  fights  with  their 
pursuers,  and  were  several  times  forced  to  abandon 
their  horses  and  take  to  the  brush  on  foot.  They 
kept  working  southwest  through  the  mountains. 
Occasionally  they  would  steal  horses  and   make  a 


1 88  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

forced  march,  but  the  whole  country  was  aroused 
and  out  against  them.  Daily  reports  from  the  pur- 
suers were  sent  in  every  direction,  showing  just 
where  the  bandits  were  last  seen,  and  which  way 
they  were  going,  calling  on  the  people  to  look  out 
for  them,  etc.  And  the  people  turned  out.  After 
ten  days  of  incessant  ambuscade,  one  of  them  met 
his  fate  at  Pine  Hill,  Kentucky.  There  were  two 
brothers  named  Dillon,  who,  becoming  very  much 
interested  in  the  reports  concerning  the  bandits,  con- 
cluded that  from  the  route  given  that  the  robbers 
would  come  near  their  place.  Each  of  them  pro- 
cured an  old  army  musket  which  they  loded  with 
slugs,  and  then  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  the  outlaws. 
On  the  night  of  the  14th,  which  was  cloudless, 
and  with  a  new  moon  which  rendered  objects  visi. 
ble,  the  two  brothers  in  maintaining  their  watch  saw 
four  figures  moving  through  the  woods  on  foot  about 
fifty  yards  south  of  them.  When  the  outlaws  ap- 
proached the  road  they  stopped,  and  consulting 
together  for  a  moment,  they  separate  d,  two  of  them 
proceeding  down  the  road,  while  the  other  pair  came 
directly  toward  the  brothers.  Now  was  the  supreme 
moment.  The  watchers  could  not  be  mistaken ;  two 
tall  men  wearing  linen  dusters  and  with  pistols,  the 
handles  of  which  protruded  from  the  front  of  their 
coats.  Two  to  two  without  any  odds  provided  the 
first  fire  could  be  made  effectual.  But  what  if  those 
two  muskets  should  fail  fire,  or,  firing,  miss  ?  The  Dillon 
boys  perhaps  never  thought  of  this  ;  like  the  enthu- 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  189 

siastic  hunter  who  attacks  a  grizzly  bear,  he  only 
thinks  of  the  game  before  him ;  evidently  the 
brothers  were  prompted  by  a  similar  enthusiasm,  for 
as  the  two  bandits  approached  the  brothers  com- 
manded a  "halt!  throw  up  your  arms."  Instead  of 
obeying  the  injunction,  the  bandits  drew  their  pistols 
and  four  shots  were  fired;  each  one  giving  an  ex- 
change. After  the  firing  the  outlaws  ran  off,  one  of 
them  moving  in  a  manner  that  indicated  suffering. 

On  the  following  morning  the  two  brothers  visited 
the  spot  where  the  engagement  had  occurred,  and 
made  an  examination ;  they  were  rewarded  by 
finding  blood  stains  on  the  leaves,  and  following 
the  trail  into  a  cornfield  for  a  distance  of  two 
hundred  yards,  they  found  a  man  with  a  gaping 
wound  in  his  side,  within  hand-reach  of  death's 
threshold.  The  brothers  tenderly  carried  him  up  to 
their  home,  and  laying  the  tortured  body  upon  the 
bed,  sent  quickly  for  a  surgeon.  The  wounded  ban- 
dit, with  the  fever  and  damp  of  dissolution  on  his 
brow,  cried  out  in  his  delirium  for  "Bud,"  and  then 
in  the  last  moments,  as  the  hand  of  death,  lifting  the 
veil  of  unconsciousness  like  one  who  draws  the  dra- 
pery from  the  face  of  the  dead,  for  a  last  look,  the 
robber  exclaimed,  "  Yes,  I'm  dying,  where  are  my 
friends?" 

The  question  was  asked  him,  "What  is  your  name, 
and  who  were  your  companions?" 

Looking  sternly  into  the  face  of  the  questioner, 
he  replied,  in  a  gurgling  whisper:  "  Did  you  think 


190  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS, 

approaching  death  would  make  me  a  coward  ?  I 
never  betrayed  a  friend." 

The  eyes  did  not  close,  but  continued  their  with- 
ering stare  until  a  film  grew  o'er  the  sight ;  until  those 
around  the  bed-side  looked  down  into  the  shallow 
depths  of  a  dead  man's  eyes. 

On  the  body  of  the  outlaw  there  was  found  only 
a  seal  ring  and  two  photographs  ;  one  of  a  man  who 
proved  to  be  Bob  Ricketts,  who  said  Tom  McDan- 
iels  was  the  only  person  who  had  his  picture ;  and 
the  other  of  a  woman  who  was  recognized  as  an  old 
sweetheart  of  McDaniels.  The  same  woman  received, 
some  days  afterward,  a  piece  of  black  crape  enclosed 
in  a  letter.  The  seal  ring  was  identified  as  one 
McDaniels  had  worn. 

On  the  day  succeeding  the  robber's  death,  Sep- 
tember 19th,  three  men  came  to  the  house  where  the 
body  lay  and  asked  the  privilege  of  viewing  the  re- 
mains. It  so  happened  that  only  Mrs.  Dillon  and 
some  lady  friends  were  present  at  the  time,  who  be- 
came frightened,  correctly  suspicioning  that  the  three 
were  the  surviving  bandits  of  the  Huntington  raid. 
Mrs.  Dillon,  therefore,  refused  the  request  by  saying 
that  the  remains  were  in  the  coffin  which  had  already 
been  permanently  closed.  There  was  a  sign  of  dis- 
appointment on  the  faces  of  the  men  for  a  moment, 
but  the  largest  one  directly  spoke  in  a  firm  tone  of 
voice,  saying : 

"  Madam,  we  are  sorry  that  circumstances  require 
us  to  appear  rude ;  we  came  to  see  the  dead  body, 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  191 

and  therefore  ask  you  again,  this  time  firmly,  to  show 
us  the  remains." 

Mrs.  Dillon,  somewhat  frightened  before,  immedi- 
ately conducted  the  three  strangers  into  another 
room  where  the  coffin  rested  on  two  chairs.  A  screw- 
driver lay  on  the  window-casing,  and  with  this  the 
lid  was  readily  removed,  which,  being  turned  aside, 
was  held  by  Mrs.  Dillon  while  the  trio  looked  long 
and  sorrowfully  at  the  pale,  upturned  face  of  the  dead 
man.  The  largest  man  betrayed  great  emotion,  the 
tears  straggling  down  his  cheeks  and  falling  on  the 
cerements  of  his  comrade.  Standing  there  and  look- 
ing down  into  the  sightless,  but  opened  eyes  of  the 
dead  robber,  who  can  conceive  the  reflections  of  the 
surviving  bandits  who  had  lured  the  poor  unfortu- 
nate to  that  wicket  of  life  from  out  which  no  soul  can 
ever  come  to  tell  its  story. 

After  a  speechless  gaze  of  many  minutes,  with 
manifestations  of  deep  sorrow,  the  three  men  asked 
if  the  party  who  did  the  killing  was  about ;  being 
informed  that  he  was  not,  they  courteously  bade  Mrs. 
Dillon  good-day  and  departed,  going  out  through  the 
corn-field. 

Mr.  Oney,  the  Huntington  cashier,  had  been  to 
Pine  Hill,  the  second  day  before  this  occurrence,  and 
had  fully  identified  the  wounded  man  as  one  of  the 
two  who  entered  the  bank  and  made  him  give  up  the 
money.  He  returned  by  way  of  Louisville,  and, 
while  there,  received  the  following  dispatch,  which 
was  published  in  the  Courier-Journal : 


i92  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

Louisville,  Ky.,  Sept.  20. 

Robt.  T.  Oney: — The  other  three  entered  the 
house  and  had  the  coffin  opened  ;  said  he  did  not 
look  like  he  did  before.  One  of  them  was  crying. 
They  asked  for  me  and  then  went  into  the  corn-field. 
I  was  at  the  house  about  five  minutes  after  they  left. 
I  look  for  a  desperate  attack  to-day. 

W.  R.  Dillon. 

There  was  no  attack  of  course.  The  three  survi- 
vors bushwhacked  about  for  some  time,  two  of  them 
eventually  escaping,  while  the  third  was  wounded 
and  captured  in  Fentress  county,  Tennessee.  He 
had  about  him  some  #4,000  in  money.  He  was  iden- 
tified as  one  of  the  men  who  wore  a  long  duster  at 
Huntington,  and  was  taken  back  and  given  twelve 
years  in  Moundsville  prison.  He  was  booked  Jack 
Kean,  alias  Tom  Webb. 

In  justice  to  Cole  Younger  and  Frank  James,  the 
following  suspicions  concerning  the  identity  of  the 
other  two  robbers  are  given ;  for  the  intention  of  the 
writer  is  to  draw  no  inference  not  supported  by  rea- 
sonable conclusions.  Regardless  of  the  information 
which  led  to  introducing  Cole  Younger  and  Frank 
James  as  plotting  with  Jack  Kean  the  robbery  of  the 
bank,  the  evidence  is  not  convincing  that  either  of 
them  were  at  Huntington.  It  is  claimed  that  Clell 
Miller  was  one  of  the  party,  while  the  fourth  man  is 
in  dispute.  Some  hold  that  it  was  Cole  Younger, 
because  Cole  was  commonly  called  "  Bud  "  by  his 
comrades,  and  they  think  Thomp.  McDaniels'  delir- 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  193 

ious  inquiries  as  to  whether  Bud  was  captured,  re- 
ferred to  Cole  or  "  Bud  ?  Younger.  Others  say  that 
McDaniels,  being  out  of  his  head,  was  thinking  and 
raving  about  his  brother  Bud.  The  matter  was  never 
settled.  The  following  is  a  description  of  the  rob- 
bers, published  a  few  days  after  the  raid : 

No.  1.  Heavy-set  man,  at  least  six  feet  high, 
Weight  two  hundred  pounds,  tolerably  dark  hair, 
with  reddish  whiskers  and  moustache,  red  complex- 
ion, black  hat,  long  linen  duster  and  blue  overalls, 
gold  ring  on  left  little  finger. 

No.  2.  Tall,  slim  man,  in  height  about  six  feet, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  delicate-looking,  light 
hair  and  sandy  whiskers,  high  forehead,  long  nose, 
gold  buttons  in  shirt,  left  little  finger  had  a  ring,  long 
duster  and  blue  overalls. 

No.  3.  Tall,  slim  man,  about  six  feet  high,  weight 
one  hundred  and  sixty-five  pounds,  short,  black 
whiskers  and  black  hair,  slim  face,  black  hat,  long 
duster,  blue  overalls,  suit  of  black  twilled  cloth  with 
stripes,  fine  boots,  two  gold  rings  on  little  left  finger ; 
had  two  collars  washed  with  "  London "  printed  on 
the  bands. 

No.  4.  Heavy-set  man,  about  five  feet  ten  inches 
high,  weight  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds,  very 
stout,  square-looking  man,  brown  hair,  round  red 
face,  patch  of  red  whiskers  on  his  chin,  light-colored 
hat,  linen  duster,  gray  striped  coat  and  vest,  pants 
similar,  but  not  like  coat  and  vest,  red  drilling  over- 
alls, fine  boots,  broad  gold  ring  with  flowers  cut  in  it 

on  his  left  little  finger, 
18 


194  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

It  should  have  been  stated  that  while  in  the  bank 
one  of  the  robbers  dropped  a  small  jewelry  orna- 
ment, on  one  side  of  which  was  engraved  the  name 
"  A.  S.  Underwood,"  and  from  this  and  the  direction 
of  the  flight,  it  was  thought  some  of  the  Kentucky 
Underwoods  might  have  been  in  the  band.  This  ap- 
pears to  have  had  little  weight,  however,  with  the 
authorities.  On  the  nth  of  March,  1876,  a  man 
named  Keeney  was  arrested  at  Sedalia,  Mo.,  on  sus- 
picion of  having  had  some  hand  in  the  Huntington 
raid.  He  was  a  poor  man,  and  was  found  to  have 
received  a  large  sum  of  money  by  express  from  a 
brother  living  near  Huntington.  He  gave  no  ex- 
planation satisfactory  to  the  authorities,  but  in  the 
absence  of  any  positive  evidence,  even  tending  to 
show  his  connection  with  the  robbery,  he  was  re- 
leased after  a  confinement  of  two  weeks. 


THE  MISSOURI  PACIFIC  RAILROAD 
ROBBERY. 

More  than  one  year  elapsed  after  the  robbery  at 
Huntington  before  the  bandits  were  heard  of  again. 
In  this  interim  of  activity  the  Younger  and  James 
brothers  were  in  Texas  and  Indian  Territory,  with 
old  friends  and  war  comrades.  A  few  detectives 
were  still  on  the  search,  but  only  as  an  auxiliary  to 
other  work,  there  being  no  prospect  of  arresting 
either  of  the  outlaws. 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  195 

The  policy  of  the  bandits  was  to  conceal  their 
presence,  even  from  friends,  just  before  perpetrating 
a  robbery,  so  as  to  make  the  crime  such  a  thorough 
surprise,  that  after  its  commission  people  would  be 
too  badly  confused  for  an  immediate  and  intelligent 
pursuit. 

The  old  tactics  of  the  outlaws  were  put  into  prac- 
tice at  the  Missouri  Pacific  Railroad  robbery,  one  of 
the  most  daring  and  successful  sorties  ever  made  by 
the  "  Knights  of  the  Rail."  The  particulars  of  this 
bold  adventure  are  as  follows : 

About  9  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  7th  of  July, 
1876,  Henry  Chateau,  the  old  Swiss  watchman,  at 
the  Otter  bridge  on  the  Missouri  Pacifiic  Railroad, 
was  sitting  by  the  pump-house  smoking  his  cob- 
pipe  and  enjoying  the  balmy  air  of  the  evening.  The 
sound  of  voices  fell  on  his  ear,  and  looking  out  into 
the  shadow  he  saw  four  men  walking  across  the 
bridge  toward  him.  It  was  an  isolated,  out-of-the- 
way  place,  and  though  strangers  did  not  very  often 
pass,  their  very  scarcity  made  company  the  more  wel- 
come. The  men  came  along  and  proved  to  be  right 
sociable  fellows.  Three  of  them  sat  down,  passed 
the  compliments  of  the  evening,  and  talked  a  few 
minutes  about  anything  that  occurred  to  mind.  Pres- 
ently the  fourth,  who  was  a  tremendously  big  fellow, 
standing  just  in  front  of  the  watchman,  asked, 
"What  kind  of  a  job  have  you  got?  What  do  you 
have  to  do  here  ?  " 

"  Just  watch  the  bridge,"  was  the  reply.     "  If  there 


196  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

is  danger  I  show  the  red  light  and  the  train  stops. 
If  all  is  safe  I  show  the  white  light  and  she  goes  on. 

The  big  fellow  remarked  that  that  was  a  good  easy- 
job.     Then  turning  to  one  of  his  comrades  he  asked, 

"  What  time  is  it  ?  " 

"  Ten  minutes  after  nine,"  said  the  other. 

"  It's  about  time." 

One  of  the  others  rose  to  his  feet  and  asked  for  a 
drink  of  water.  The  watchman  stepped  into  the  pump- 
house  to  get  it,  and  was  suddenly  seized.  A  revol- 
ver was  placed  at  his  head  and  he  was  a  prisoner. 
The  next  thing  he  discovered  was  that  all  the  men 
had  pulled  out  masks  and  slipped  them  on.  The 
large  man  then  said: 

"  Come,  follow  us,  and  be  quiet." 

Trembling  with  fear  the  watchman  pleadingly- 
inquired  : 

"You  do  not  intend  to  kill  me?" 

"  What  do  we  want  to  kill  you  for  ?"  replied  the 
leader,  "  we  only  want  you  to  do  what  you're  told, 
and  if  you  are  wise  you'll  do  it  without  any  ques- 
tions." 

The  large  fellow  then  pulled  from  his  pocket  a 
handkerchief,  with  which  the  prisoner  was  blindfold- 
ed, and  then  taking  up  the  white  and  red  lights,  the 
parties  crossed  the  bridge  and  walked  for  more  than 
a  mile  along  the  track,  when  they  came  to  a  deep 
rocky  cut,  two  miles  east  of  Otterville,  where  the 
captive  watchman  was  ordered  to  be  seated,  two  of 
the  robbers  maintaining  guard  over  him.     Meantime 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  197 

others  of  the  gang  heaped  a  lot  of  ties  on  the  track. 
Presently  the  train  was  heard  in  the  distance.  Then 
one  of  the  bandits  lighted  the  red  lantern  which  he 
placed  in  the  watchman's  hand  and  led  him  out  on  the 
track,  telling  him  to  stand  there  and  stop  the  train  or 
be  run  over,  or  shot,  just  as  he  chose.  The  train 
consisted  of  two  baggage,  one  express,  three  pas- 
senger and  two  sleeping-cars,  John  Standthorpe  en- 
gineer, and  Capt.  Tebbitts  conductor.  On  came  the 
train,  and  the  prisoner,  who  conceived  death  staring 
him  from  every  side,  made  industrious  use  of  the 
signal.  The  vigilant  engineer  saw  it,  and  applying 
the  air-brakes  brought  the  locomotive  to  a  stand- 
still about  twenty  feet  from  the  frightened  watchman. 
Pistol  shots  were  heard,  and  the  old  man  slightly  mov- 
ing the  bandage  over  his  eyes,  saw  that  his  guards 
had  vanished ;  frightened,  then,  at  what  he  could  not 
define,  the  watchman  threw  down  the  lantern  and 
fled  through  the  woods  in  the  darkness. 

The  cow-catcher  of  the  engine  had  actually  pushed 
in  amongst  the  pile  of  ties  on  the  track,  and  had  the 
train  stopped  less  promptly,  the  engine  would  have 
been  ditched. 

The  engineer  and  fireman  had  company  in  an  in- 
stant. Two  masked  men  shoved  revolvers  at  them, 
telling  them  to  take  it  easy  and  come  along.  They 
were  quickly  escorted  to  the  baggage  car  and  forced 
in.  Others  of  the  band  had  instantly  piled  an  ob- 
struction on  the  track  behind  the  train  so  that  it 
could  not  back  out,  and  also  dispatched  a  man  to 


198  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

the  bridge  to  flag  a  freight-train  shortly  due.  Still 
others  at  the  sides  of  the  train  kept  the  passengers 
indoors,  firing  and  warning  all  not  to  come  out. 

The  work  of  robbing  was  executed  with  a  coolr 
ness  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  crimes  of  this 
kind.  The  express  messenger,  J.  B.  Bushnell,  had 
in  his  charge  a  through  safe  of  the  Adams  Express 
Company,  for  which  he  had  no  key,  and  a  United 
States  Express  safe.  The  messenger^  divining  what 
was  up  as  soon  as  the  train  stopped,  made  his  way 
back  to  one  of  the  sleepers  and  gave  the  United 
States  safe  key  to  a  brakeman,  who  put  it  in  his 
shoe  ;  hence,  when  three  of  the  robbers  rushed  into 
the  express  car,  which  was  also  a  baggage  car,  they 
found  the  baggageman  sitting  there  looking  demure. 
They  asked  him  for  keys  to  the  safes,  and  when  he 
said  he  had  none  they  searched  him.  Then  they  ad- 
vised him  somewhat  earnestly  to  hunt  them  up  or 
say  his  prayers.  Finally  he  convinced  them  that  he 
was  not  the  messenger.  Without  a  moment's  warn- 
ing they  bade  him  show  them  the  messenger. 
Through  the  train  they  marched  him  in  front  of  their 
revolvers  until  the  messenger  was  found.  The  argu- 
ments used  to  induce  him  to  give  up  the  key  proved 
irresistible.  The  brakeman  was  pointed  out,  the  shoe 
pulled  offand  the  key  found,  the  messenger  and  brake- 
man  were  then  marched  forward  to  the  baggage  car 
and  locked  in,  with  the  injunction  not  to  be  "too  fly." 
The  United  States  safe  contents  were  speedily  trans- 
ferred to  a  grain  sack  without  examination.  The  mes- 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  199 

senger  once  more  found  himself  in  peril,  because  he 
had  no  key  to  the  Adams  through  safe,  but  as  his 
explanation  was  reasonable,  the  robbers  were  con- 
vinced. One  of  the  bandits  then  ran  out,  got  the 
fireman's  hammer  and  began  banging  at  the  safe. 
He  was  unable  to  produce  much  impression,  where- 
upon a  herculean  bandit  caught  the  hammer  and 
with  a  few  tremendous  blows  broke  a  hole  in  the 
side,  into  which  he  vainly  attempted  to  force  his 
hand.  The  first  striker,  however,  remarked  that  he 
"wore  a  No.  7  kid,"  and  could  do  better.  In  just 
two  minutes  the  safe  was  plundered  and  the  booty 
bagged.  No  attempt  was  made  to  rob  the  passen- 
gers. The  train-boy's  box  was  broken  open,  and 
peanuts  and  apples  were  gobbled  up  voraciously. 
Only  one  or  two  shots  were  fired  from  the  train,  the 
robbers  keeping  up  a  fusillade  on  both  sides  and 
moving  from  point  to  point,  so  that  in  the  darkness  it 
seemed  as  though  the  brush  was  full  of  men. 

The  train-boy  had  a  revolver,  and  early  in  the  fra- 
cas he  stepped  out  on  the  platform  and  blazed  away 
at  one  of  the  robbers,  who  gave  a  loud   croaking 

laugh  and  called  out,  "  Hear  that  little bark  I  " 

As  soon  as  the  safes  had  been  emptied,  the  robbers 
told  the  train-men  to  remove  the  obstructions  before 
and  behind  and  pull  out,  which  was  done  with  alac- 
rity. The  train  was  stopped  an  hour  and  ten  minutes, 
and  the  booty  secured  amounted  to  fifteen  thousand 
dollars. 

All  the  robbers  who  were  seen  in  the  cars  were 


200  THE  BORDER  0  UTLA  TVS. 

tall  men,  except  the  one  who  said  he  wore  the  No.  7 
kid,  and  he  was  the  only  one  who  wore  no  mask. 
The  others  were  masked  in  various  ways,  some  hav- 
ing the  whole  face  covered,  except  holes  for  the 
eyes,  and  some  having  a  mask  covering  only  the 
nose  and  lower  part  of  the  face.  The  one  who  seemed 
to  be  the  leader  was  tall  and  had  light  or  yellowish 
hair. 

The  mustering  for  the  pursuit  was  hot  and  zealous. 
Bacon  Montgomery  started  out  from  Sedalia  with  a 
picked  crowd  and  ran  the  "robbers  to  within  three 
miles  of  Florence,  where  they  scattered  temporarily 
and  took  to  the  hills.  Sheriff  Murray  led  another 
band.  On  every  side  the  country  was  in  arms.  The 
robbers  were  eight  in  number.  It  was  found  where 
they  had  eaten  at  farm  houses  the  day  before  the 
robbery.  Accurate  descriptions  were  given,  and  it 
was  positively  stated  that  the  Youngers  had  been 
recognized  both  on  the  advance  and  retreat.  Maj. 
Wood  accordingly  visited  the  Younger  settlement 
and  reported  that  the  boys  had  not  been  away  from 
home.  The  Osage  river  was  high,  all  the  fords  were 
guarded,  and  from  the  other  side  the  country  was 
scouted  over  in  every  direction,  yet  the  robbers  were 
cunning  enough  to  get  away  without  apparently  ever 
being  run  to  close  quarters.  Matters  fell  to  a  dead 
quiet,  and  the  pursuit  changed  to  a  still  hunt,  till 
about  the  first  of  August,  when  Hobbs  Kerry  and 
Bruce  Younger  were  arrested  at  Joplin  and  Granby, 
the  St.  Louis  police  having  taken  a  hand  at  working 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  201 

up  the  case.  Bruce  Younger  was  soon  discharged, 
as  it  was  easily  shown  that  he  was  not  at  Otterville. 
Kerry,  however,  was  positively  identified.  It  appears 
the  name  of  every  member  of  the  band  had  been 
definitely  ascertained,  and  most  of  them  had  been 
traced  to  their  lairs.  Charley  Pitts  and  Bill  Chad- 
well  had  gone  to  Cherokee  and  Coalfield,  Kansas, 
where  an  attempt  was  made  to  arrest  them  by  agree- 
ment on  the  same  day  Kerry  was  taken  in.  Pitts 
was  captured  on  Spring  river  with  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  dollars  in  his  pocket,  but  subsequent- 
ly got  away.  He  had  been  engaged  to  marry  a 
widow  named  Lillie  Beamer,  but  about  three  weeks 
after  the  robbery  he  married  another  girl  in  Coalfield. 
As  he  had  already  temporarily  intrusted  a  two  thou- 
sand dollar  package  to  Mrs.  Beamer,  and  talked 
freely  about  the  robbery,  she  was  not  slow  to  tell  of 
it  when  he  married  the  other  girl.  Pitts'  real  name 
was  Wells.  An  effort  was  made  to  arrest  Chadwell 
the  same  time  that  Pitts  was  taken,  but  he  got  into  a 
cornfield  and  escaped.  The  officers,  who  were 
sheriff's  deputies,  then  rushed  back  into  Missouri 
after  the  James  and  Younger  Boys,  but  as  usual  did 
not  get  them.  Kerry  made  a  full  confession  about 
a  week  after  he  was  captured.  He  said  Cole  and 
Bob  Younger,  Frank  and  Jesse  James,  Clell  Miller, 
Charles  Pitts,  Bill  Chadwell  and  himself  did  the  job. 
They  rode  twenty  miles  the  first  night  before  divid- 
ing the  money.  Then  they  emptied  the  sack,  ripped 
open  the  packages,  put  all  the  money  in  a  pile  and 


202  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

Frank  James  counted  it.  Kerry's  duty  was  to  watch 
the  horses  while  the  robbery  was  being  accomplished. 
His  share  was  one  thousand  two  hundred  dollars. 
Then  he  and  Chadwell  and  Pitts  went  out  together. 
They  got  away  easy  enough.  Kerry  left  them  and 
went  to  Vinita,  then  back  to  Granby,  whore  he  spent 
money,  gambled,  gave  himself  away  and  was  sent  to 
the  penitentiary  for  four  years.  The  usual  proffer  of 
an  alibi  came  from  the  James  Bo^s  in  spite  of  Kerry 
and  the  widow  Beamer. 


THE  NORTHFIELD  BANK  ROBBERY  AND 
TRAGEDY. 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS. 

The  Rocky  Cut,  or  Missouri  Pacific  Railroad  rob- 
bery, caused  a  separation  of  the  bandits  for  only  a 
brief  period.  Jesse  and  Frank  James,  with  Charlie 
Pitts,  Clell  Miller  and  Bill  Chadwell,  went  directly  to 
Texas,  finding  a  safe  retreat  in  the  western  part 
of  that  State.  The  Younger  Brothers  proceeded 
to  Jackson  county  and  withdrew  into  the  secret 
cavern,  where  they  felt  secure  against  molesta- 
tion. From  time  to  time,  however,  they  visited  reli- 
able friends  in  the  adjoining  counties,  but  were  ex- 
tremely careful  to  escape  the  observation  of  strang- 
ers. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  203 

About  the  middle  of  August  Cole  Younger  con- 
cluded to  visit  Texas,  and  in  order  to  make  the  trip 
without  interference,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  mask- 
ing his  identity  behind  the  make-up  of  a'  teamster. 
To  prepare  for  the  journey,  he  went  to  Lees  Sum- 
mit, accompanied  by  his  brothers,  Jim  and  Bob, 
where,  after  a  short  stay,  he  purchased  a  pair  of 
horses  and  a  substantial  wagon,  which  being  loaded 
with  provisions  of  various  kinds,  the  three  started  for 
Texas  on  the  following  day.  They  had  proceeded 
only  a  few  miles  in  Kansas,  throuph  which  the  route 
was  taken,  when  they  met  the  James  Brothers 
with  their  confederates,  Clell  Miller,  Charley  Pitts 
and  Bill  Chadwell.  How  this  meeting  occurred, 
whether  by  accident  or  in  pursuance  of  arrange- 
ments perfected  through  correspondence,  the  writer 
cannot  say,  but  the  natural  conclusion  would  be 
that  it  was  intentional.  At  this  meeting  plans  were 
discussed  respecting  the  plundering  of  a  bank  in 
Minnesota. 

Bill  Chadwell,  alias  Styles,  who  was  with  the  James 
Boys,  had  been  a  former  resident  of  Minnesota,  in 
which  State  he  had  some  respectable  relations.  His 
acquaintance  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  led  to 
a  consideration  of  the  results  of  a  bank  robbery  in 
that  section.  He  told  a  long  and  plausible  story 
concerning  the  wealth  of  that  country ;  the  heavy 
deposits  carried  by  some  of  the  banks,  that  of  Man- 
kato  being  especially  mentioned,  and  then  declared 
his  knowledge  of  every  road  and  hog  path,  cave  and 


204  TIf£  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

swamp  within  two  hundred  miles  of  St.  Paul.  His 
story  produced  a  most  favorable  impression  upon  the 
two  James  boys  and  Clell  Miller,  who,  in  turn,  sought 
to  persuade  Cole  Younger  and  his  brothers  into  a 
similar  disposition.  It  is  said  that  Jim  and  Bob 
Younger  thought  favorable  of  the  enterprise,  but 
Cole  shook  his  head  and  expressed  doubts  and  dis- 
satisfaction. He  plainly  told  his  comrades  that  Min- 
nesota was  too  far  from  home  for  a  successful  adven- 
ture of  the  character  proposed,  and  that  "  the  game 
was  not  worth  the  ammunition."  However,  the  will 
of  all  the  others  prevailed  against  his  good  judg- 
ment, and  selling  his  team  and  provisions,  the  reor- 
ganized party  proceeded  to  Minnesota  by  railroad. 

After  reaching  the  section  of  their  intended  ex- 
ploit, it  was  decided  to  make  Chadwell  the  leader, 
because  of  his  knowledge  of  the  country.  In  ac- 
cordance with  his  suggestions  the  bandits  separated 
into  pairs,  coming  together  again,  as  occasion  re- 
quired, in  order  to  preserve  a  concert  of  action.  In 
riding  through  the  country  they  went  sometimes  in 
pairs  and  then  again  there  were  three  in  one  com- 
pany and  five  in  another,  carrying  with  them  county 
and  section  maps,  that  their  retreat  might  be  made 
with  a  thorough  understanding  of  all  the  avenues  af- 
fording the  best  means  of  escape.  At  some  places 
they  claimed  to  be  railroad  surveyors,  which  was 
their  excuse  for  making  inquiries  regarding  swamps, 
bluffs  and  stretches  of  heavy  timber.  At  other 
times,  in  crossing  prairies,  they  passed  for  land  spec- 
ulators and  cattle  dealers. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  205 

It  is  positively  known  now  that  the  bandits  visited 
the  cities  of  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  Mankato,  Jaynes- 
ville,  Lake  Crystal,  Owatonna,  Dundas,  Madelia  and 
Northfield,  and  in  each  of  these  places  they  stopped 
at  the  hotels  and  demeaned  themselves  like  wealthy 
gentlemen.  They  purchased  horses  at  different 
points  until  all  the  bandits  were  superbly  mounted. 

At  Mankato  all  the  outlaws  came  together  on  the 
3d  of  September,  and  paid  a  visit  to  the  city  bank, 
where  one  of  them  obtained  change  for  a  #50  bill. 
During  their  stay  in  this  place  Jesse  James  was 
recognized  by  an  old  acquaintance,  but  the  recogni- 
tion was  not  returned,  Jesse  claiming  that  the  speaker 
was  a  stranger.  After  this  only  five  of  the  bandits 
were  seen  together  until  the  attack  at  Northfield  ;  the 
reason  for  this  is  found  in  the  arrangement  for  Bill 
Chadwell  and  Cole  Younger  to  ride  in  advance  and 
obtain  necessary  information  which  would  determine 
the  party  upon  what  bank  the  raid  should  be  made. 
When  the  bandits  rode  into  Mankato  on  the  5th  of 
September,  they  all  wore  long,  linen  ulsterettes  over 
their  heavy  coats.  On  Wednesday,  the  6th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1876,  three  rode  in  from  Millersburg  and 
met  a  fourth.  All  tied  their  horses  near  the  depot, 
where  they  were  admired  by  fanciers  of  fine  stock. 
Two  weeks  before  the  raid  two  of  them  had  pur- 
chased horses  in  St.  Paul,  and  Officer  Kenny  recog- 
nized one  of  them  as  Clell  Miller,  whom  he  had  seen 
on  trial  at  Corydon,  Iowa,  for  the  bank  robbery  com- 
mitted there  in  1871.     Miller  talked  with  the  officer, 


206  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

whom  he  also  recognized.  He  said  he  was  going  to 
the  Black  Hills.  All  the  gang  appear  to  have  ob- 
tained a  good  knowledge  of  the  town  and  immediate 
vicinity  without  exciting  suspicion  that  they  were 
other  than  honest  cattle  dealers  with  plenty  of 
money. 

On  the  following  day,  the  7th,  the  eight  daring 
brigands  rode  into  Northfield,  a  town  of  two  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  located  on  the  line  of  the  Milwau- 
kee and  St.  Paul  Railroad,  in  Rice  county.  A  small 
stream  runs  through  the  place,  called  Cannon  river, 
over  which  there  is  a  neat  iron  bridge,  and  just  above 
this  there  is  an  excellent  mill  race,  with  a  large  flour- 
ing mill  owned  by  Messrs.  Ames  &  Co.  The  town 
is  chiefly  noted  for  the  location  of  Carlton  College, 
one  of  the  finest  educational  institutions  in  the  State. 

Just  before  noon  three  of  the  bandits  dined  at 
Jeft's  restaurant  on  the  west  side  of  Cannon  river. 
After  eating  they  talked  politics,  and  one  of  them 
offered  to  bet  the  restaurant  man  one  hundred  dollars 
that  the  State  would  go  Democratic.  The  bet  was 
not  taken,  and  they  then  rode  across  the  bridge  into 
the  business  part  of  the  town,  hitching  their  horses 
nearly  in  front  of  the  First  National  Bank.  They 
stood  for  some  time  talking  leisurely  near  the  corner. 
Suddenly  there  came  like  a  whirlwind  a  rush  of 
horsemen  over  the  bridge.  There  were  only  three 
of  them,  but  they  made  racket  enough  for  a  regi- 
ment. Riding  into  the  square  with  whoops  and 
oaths,  they  began  firing  revolvers  and  ordering  every- 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  207 

body  off  the  streets.  Almost  at  the  same  moment 
two  others  rode  down  from  the  west,  carrying  out  a 
similar  programme.  It  was  a  new  experience  for 
Northfield,  and  for  a  few  minutes  the  slamming  of 
front  doors  almost  drowned  the  noise  of  the  firing. 
At  the  first  sound  of  the  onset  the  three  men  who 
first  entered  town,  Jesse  James,  Charley  Pitts  and 
Bob  Younger,  had  walked  quickly  into  the  bank  and 
leaped  nimbly  over  the  counter.  The  cashier,  J.  L. 
Haywood,  was  at  his  place  and  Frank  Wilcox  and 
A.  E.  Bunker,  clerks,  were  at  their  desks.  All  were 
covered  by  the  revolvers  before  they  apprehended 
danger.  The  robbers  stated  that  they  intended  to 
rob  the  bank.  The  cashier  was  commanded  to 
open  the  safe,  and  bravely  refused.  The  outer 
door  of  the  vault  was  standing  ajar,  and  the  leader 
stepped  in  to  try  the  inner  door.  As  he  did  so 
Haywood  jumped  forward  and  tried  to  shut  him  in. 
One  of  the  others,  afterward  found  to  be  Charlie 
Pitts,  promptly  arrested  the  movement.  At  this 
moment  Bunker  thought  he  saw  a  chance,  and  so  he 
broke  for  the  back  door.  The  third  robber,  Bob 
Younger,  followed  and  fired  two  shots,  one  of  which 
took  effect  in  the  fugitive's  shoulder.  The  others 
then  insisted  that  Haywood  should  open  the  safe,  and 
putting  a  knife  to  his  throat  said,  "  Open  up,  d — d 
you,  or  we'll  slit  you  from  ear  to  ear."  A  slight  cut 
was  made  to  enforce  the  demand.  Haywood  still  re- 
fused. Meantime  the  firing  outside  had  commenced, 
and  the  men  then  began  to   cry  out,  "Hurry  up' 


208  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

It's  getting  too  hot  here !"  The  three  hastily  ran- 
sacked the  drawers,  and  rinding  only  a  lot  of  small 
change,  jumped  over  the  railing  and  ran  out.  Jesse 
James  was  the  last  to  go,  and  as  he  was  in  the 
act  of  leaping  from  the  counter,  he  saw  Haywood 
turn  quickly  to  a  drawer  as  if  in  the  act  of  securing 
a  weapon.  Instantly  the  outlaw  presented  his  pistol 
and  shot  the  brave  cashier  dead.  The  bullet  pene- 
trated the  right  temple  and  ranging  downward  lodged 
near  the  base  of  the  brain.  Haywood  fell  over  with- 
out a  groan,  a  quantity  of  his  blood  and  brains 
staining  the  desk  as  he  reeled  in  the  death  fall.  The 
shot  which  struck  Bunker  entered  his  right  shoulder 
at  the  point  of  the  shoulder-blade  and  passed  through 
obliquely,  producing  only  a  flesh  wound. 

As  the  bandits  rushed  into  the  street  they  met  a 
sight  and  reception  quite  unexpected.  Recovering 
from  their  first  surprise,  the  citizens  began  to  exhibit 
their  pluck,  and  were  ready  to  meet  the  outlaws  half 
way  in  a  deadly  fight.  A  search  for  fire-arms  was 
the  first  important  step,  and  Dr.  Wheeler,  J.  B.  Hide, 
L.  Stacey,  Mr.  Manning  and  Mr.  Bates  each  succeed- 
ed in  procuring  a  weapon  which  they  expeditiously 
put  into  service.  Dr.  Wheeler,  from  a  corner  room 
(No.  8)  in  the  Dampier  House,  with  a  breech-loading 
carbine,  took  deliberate  aim  at  one  of  the  bandits  as 
he  was  mounting,  and  sent  a  big  slug  through  the 
outlaw's  body.  The  death-stricken  man  plunged 
head-long  from  his  horse  and  never  uttered  a  sound 
afterward.  This  man  proved  to  be  Bill  Chadwell,  or 
properly  Bill  Styles. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  209 

Mr.  Bates  was  in  a  room  over  Hananer's  clothing- 
store  in  the  Scriver  block,  while  Manning  stood  fear- 
lessly on  the  sidewalk,  and  the  two  kept  firing  at 
the  robbers  as  opportunity  presented.  At  length 
Manning  walked  out,  and  seeing  one  of  the  bandits 
riding  rapidly  up  Division  street,  he  fired  and  was 
rewarded  by  seeing  the  robber  grow  unsteady  in  his 
seat,  and  then  checking  the  speed  of  his  horse, 
tumble  to  the  ground.  This  second  victim  proved 
to  be  Clell  Miller,  and  as  he  fell,  Cole  Younger,  see- 
ing the  fatal  result,  rode  up  to  the  prostrate  comrade 
from  whose  body  he  unbuckled  a  belt  containing 
two  pistols,  securing  which,  he  remounted  and  rode 
back  to  the  others  who  were  still  firing.  Another  of 
the  outlaws  used  his  horse  as  a  barricade,  and  from 
behind  it  he  continued  to  shoot  until  another  shot 
from  Manning's  gun  killed  the  animal.  His  protec- 
tion being  destroyed  the  bandit  ran  for  the  iron 
stairway  which  leads  to  the  second  story  of  the 
Scriver  block  from  the  outside.  Behind  this  stair- 
way were  a  number  of  empty  pine  boxes,  from 
behind  which  the  bandit  used  every  effort  to  kill 
Manning.  Dr.  Wheeler  was  a  critical  observer  of 
everything  occurring  in  the  street,  and  bringing  his 
carbine  to  bear  on  the  outlaw,  he  fired,  sending  a 
bullet  through  the  bandit's  right  elbow.  This  man 
proved  to  be  Bob  Younger,  who,  not  in  the  least 
discouraged  by  his  painful  wound,  coolly  maintained 
his  position,  and,  shifting  his  pistol  to  the  left  hand, 
fired  at  Bates,  who  was  standing  with  his  weapon 
U 


BILL  CHADWELL. 


CLELL  MILLER. 


CHARLEY  PITTS. 


Engraved  from  Photographs  taken  after  Death. 


210  o. 


THE   YO  UNGER  BR  O  THERS.  2 1 1 

upraised  inside  his  store.  The  bullet  sped  through  a 
window  plate  and  cut  a  furrow  through  Mr.  Bates' 
cheek,  but  not  deep  enough  to  draw  much  blood. 

A  Norwegian  by  the  name  of  Nicholas  Gustava- 
son,  was  on  the  street,  when  one  of  the  bandits  or- 
dered him  to  get  indoors.  His  limited  knowledge 
of  the  English  language  caused  his  death,  for  not 
understanding  the  command  the  outlaw  shot  him  in 
the  head,  producing  a  wound  from  which  he  died  four 
days  afterward. 

By  some  means  Jim  Younger  lost  his  horse,  and  the 
other  bandits,  finding  the  citizens'  fire  too  destruc- 
tive, mounted  their  horses  and  fled.  At  this 
moment  Jim  shouted,  "  My  God  !  boys,  you  don't 
intend  to  desert  me  ?  I  am  shot ! "  At  this  Cole 
Younger  dashed  back  and  took  his  wounded 
brother  up  behind  him.  The  gang  then  rode  rapidly 
out  of  town,  going  in  a  westwardly  direction. 

After  getting  out  of  Northfield  the  outlaws  gal- 
loped hard  for  a  mile,  and  then  stopped  for  a  few 
minutes  to  dress  their  hurts.  It  was  afterward  as- 
certained that  every  man  in  the  party  was  wounded 
more  or  less  severely,  some  of  them  being  merely 
punctured  with  small  shot.  This  was  the  result  of 
Mr.  Stacy's  double-barrel  shot-gun,  which  he  had 
no  time  to  charge  with  large  shot.  At  Dundas, 
three  miles  from  Northfield,  they  stopped  again  and 
made  another  application  of  cold  water  and  band- 
ages. One  of  them  was  so  badly  hurt  that  another 
of  the  band  got  on  the  horse  with  him  to  hold  him 


2 1 2  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

on,  the  riderless  horse  being  led  by  a  comrade.  Thus 
adjusted  the  six  rode  away  again.  On  the  road 
they  met  a  man  by  the  name  of  Empey,  hauling  a 
load  of  hoop-poles.  As  he  had  one  fine  horse  they 
knocked  him  into  the  ditch,  cut  the  horses  out  of 
the  harness  and  went  ahead  a  little  way,  when  they 
had  to  pull  up  again  to  dress  their  wounds. 
Starting  on  again  they  stopped  another  farmer,  but 
concluding  that  his  horses  were  not  as  good  as  some 
of  their  wounded  ones,  let  him  go.  At  this  time 
Frank  James  was  wearing  a  bandage  around  his 
leg  outside  his  trousers,  and  Jim  Younger  had 
a  cloth  around  his  arm  and  was  holding  one 
hand  in  the  other,  the  blood  dripping  from  his 
fingers,  while  his  horse  was  led  by  a  comrade.  This, 
of  course,  explains  how  it  happened  that  they  got 
away  no  faster.  Had  they  abandoned  the  worst 
wounded  ones  to  their  fate,  there  is  little  doubt  but 
that  the  others  would  have  gotten  away  easily 
enough.  As  it  was,  the  story  of  the  chase  abounds 
in  incidents  almost  too  marvelous  for  belief. 

Every  point,  including  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis, 
was  immediately  notified  of  the  robbery,  by  tele- 
graph, and  police  officers,  detectives  and  sheriffs 
posses  were  sent  out  after  the  fleeing  bandits,  in  such 
numbers  that  it  was  thought  impossible  for  any  of 
the  outlaws  to  escape.  • 

Very  soon  rewards  were  offered  for  the  apprehen- 
sion of  the  desperadoes,  which  stimulated  the  al- 
ready active  hunt.     The  State  first  proffered  #1,000 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  213 

for  the  arrest  of  the  six  bandits,  which  offer  was 
changed  to  #1,000  for  each  of  the  gang,  dead  or  alive  ; 
£700  was  offered  by  the  Northfield  bank,  and  #500  by 
the  Winona  &  St.  Peter  railroad. 

A  posse  of  fourteen  men  overtook  the  bandits  on 
the  night  of  the  nth  in  a  ravine  near  Shieldsville, 
and  fell  back  after  a  fight  in  which  one  of  the  robbers' 
horses  was  killed.  The  dismounted  rider  was  imme- 
diately taken  up  behind  one  of  the  others  and  the  band 
took  to  the  woods.  More  than  400  men  turned  out  to 
cut  them  off.  They  got  into  a  patch  of  timber  at  Lake 
Elysian  and  were  run  out  of  it  the  next  day,  and 
though  the  scouting  parties  increased  to  a  thousand, 
two  days  later  the  robbers  had  been  completely  lost. 
They  aimed  to  go  south-west  and  follow  the  timber 
which  reaches  to  the  Iowa  line,  but  on  the  13th  all 
six  were  surrounded  in  the  timber  near  Mankato  and 
all  bridges,  fords  and  roads  guarded,  so  that  it  was 
thought  they  could  not  escape.  At  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning  four  of  them  came  out,  ran  the  guard 
off  Blue  Earth  bridge  and  crossed  over,  and  left  a 
regiment  of  pursuers  behind.  Next  night,  two  of 
them,  Jesse  and  Frank  James,  broke  through  a  pick- 
et line  on  one  horse.  They  were  fired  upon,  and, 
abandoning  the  horse,  took  to  a  corn-field.  While 
riding  double,  a  ball  fired  by  one  of  the  pursuing 
posse,  struck  Frank  James  in  the  right  knee  and 
passing  through,  imbedded  itself  in  Jesse's  right 
thigh,  producing  painful  wounds.  They  stole  two 
grey  horses  that  night  from  a  man  named  Rockwell 


2 14  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

and  went  into  Madelia  in  the  morning  and  bought 
some  bread  ;  then  they  took  to  the  prairie  and  struck 
out  for  Dakota.  The  two  grey  horses  ridden  and  the 
overcoats  worn  by  the  James  Boys  left  the  pursuers 
an  easy  means  of  keeping  track  of  them.  Both  were  so 
badly  hurt  and  so  stiff  that  when  they  went  to  a 
farm-house  and  forced  the  farmer  to  swap  horses 
with  them  at  the  muzzle  of  the  pistol,  they  had  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  climbing  up  on  a  fence  to  get  on 
the  horses'  backs.  For  saddles  they  had  bags 
stuffed  with  hay.  Yet  they  got  clear  away  eventu- 
ally. A  posse  from  Yankton  had  a  fight  with  them 
about  eight  miles  out  of  town,  and  after  having  one 
man  wounded,  gave  it  up  as  a  perilous  business. 
The  two,  soon  after,  raided  a  stable,  captured  two 
horses,  and  again  outran  pursuit. 

Near  Sioux  Falls  they  met  a  Dr.  Mosher,  and 
made  him  dress  their  wounds  and  change  horses  and 
clothing  with  them.  That  is  the  last  that  was  seen 
of  them  by  their  pursuers,  they  being  then  in  Sioux 
county,  Iowa.  They  were  traced  further  south  to 
where  their  horses  gave  out,  and  they  hired  a  man 
to  take  them  on  their  way  in  a  wagon.  Again  they 
were  heard  of  still  further  down,  evidently  making 
for  Missouri.  Every  sheriff  and  marshal  along  their 
line  of  retreat,  was  constantly  in  receipt  of  letters 
from  Missouri  and  Kansas,  threatening  assassination 
if  they  arrested  the  two  robbers,  and  finally  the  fu- 
gitives were  lost  track  of  entirely.  It  is  now  known 
that  these  two,  Jesse  and  Frank  James,  continued 
their  journey  by  wagon  directly  to  Mexico. 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  21 5 

The  other  four,  Cole,  Jim  and  Bob  Younger  and 
Charley  Pitts,  passed  through  the  town  of  Mankato 
on  the  night  of  the  13th,  and  got  into  the  woods 
west.  They  robbed  a  hen-roost,  and  were  just  in  the 
act  of  cooking  breakfast,  when  a  posse,  who  had  dis- 
covered them,  made  a  charge  and  drove  them  out 
of  camp,  but  without  getting  sight  of  them.  The 
worst  luck  for  the  robbers  was  that  they  had  not  eaten 
breakfast,  the  chickens  being  left  in  camp,  already 
picked.  Jim  Younger  afterward  said  he  felt  real 
mean  when  he  was  robbing  that  roost.  Large  bands 
of  farmers  and  citizens  followed  close  on  their  trail, 
yet  the  bandits  showed  such  consummate  woodcraft, 
that  for  two  days  the  pursuers  thought  the  four  were 
only  three.  One  was  barefoot,  and  at  every  camp- 
ing-place they  left  the  ground  littered  with  bloody 
bandages.  Finally  all  trace  was  lost  of  them  again, 
but  on  the  morning  of  the  2 1st  one  of  the  outlaws 
went  to  a  farm-house,  eight  miles  west  of  Madelia, 
and  bought  some  bread  and  butter.  The  early  hour 
of  his  visit  and  the  stiffness  of  his  actions  caused  a 
prying  young  fellow  at  the  house,  named  Oscar  Su- 
born, to  take  particular,  notice  of  the  man.  He  dis- 
covered that  the  stranger  had  big  revolvers,  and  that 
he,  with  three  others,  left  the  road  and  started  west 
across  the  country.  In  less  than  an  hour  the  boy 
had  taken  the  news  to  Madelia.  It  was  yet  early  in 
the  day,  and  in  fifteen  minutes'  time,  after  getting 
word,  Sheriff  Glispin  and  others  set  out  on  horseback. 
For  a  couple  of  hours  parties  were  continually  start- 


2i6  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

ing  off,  as  fast  as  they  could  be  equipped  with  arms 
and  horses.  Meantime  the  four  stiff  and  foot-sore 
wayfarers  were  trudging  along  across  the  prairie  to- 
ward the  timber  skirting  the  Watonwan  river.  Just 
at  the  Hanska  slough  they  were  overtaken  by  the 
sheriff  and  advance  guard  of  three  or  four  men,  who 
rode  up  within  one  hundred  yards  and  ordered  them 
to  surrender.  The  quartette  paid  no  attention  to  the 
summons,  but  plunging  into  the  slough,  waded 
across.  The  slough  could  not  be  crossed  by  a  horse, 
so  the  sheriff  had  to  ride  around.  The  robbers  con- 
tinued to  hobble  along,  as  best  they  could,  toward 
the  river,  and  had  made  about  two  miles  before  the 
sheriff  headed  them  off.  They  kept  straight  on  for 
the  timber,  and  the  sheriff's  party  opened  on  them 
with  rifles.  The  robbers  returned  the  fire,  the  bul- 
lets whistling  so  close  that  the  officer  and  his  depu- 
ties hastily  dismounted  and  the  sheriff's  horse  was 
wounded.  The  robbers  got  into  a  belt  of  timber, 
aid,  going  through  to  the  other  side,  saw  a  hunting 
party  in  a  wagon,  which  they  made  a  rush  to  cap- 
ture. The  men  in  the  wagon  instantly  presented 
their  shot-guns  and  the  robbers,  taking  them  for  pur- 
suers, went  back  into  the  brush.  It  so  happened 
that  the  patch  of  timber  they  had  struck  was  only 
about  five  acres  in  extent,  and  had  bare,  open  ground 
all  around  it.  Before  they  had  discovered  the  dis- 
advantage of  their  position  the  people  began  to  flock 
in  from  all  directions,  in  wagons,  on  foot,  on  horse- 
back, equipped  with  shot-guns  and  rifles.     They  soon 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS. 


217 


established  a  cordon  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men 
around  the  patch  and  began  shooting  into  it  to  drive 
the  game  out.     As  the  robbers  paid  no  attention  to 


FIRING  INTO  THE  WOODS. 


this,  Sheriff  Glispen  called  for  volunteers  to  go  in 
and  stir  them  up.  The  following  went  with  him : 
Col.  Vaught,   Jas.  Severson,  Ben     Rice,  Geo.  Brad- 


218  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

ford,  Chas.  Pomeroy  and  Capt.  Murphy  of  Madelia. 
These  seven  formed  in  line  a  few  yards  apart  and 
moved  cautiously  through  the  brush.  The  hiding 
place  consisted  of  about  five  acres  of  thick  timber, 
with  considerable  willow  about  the  marshy  parts,  but 
not  sufficiently  dense  to  offer  any  considerable  pro- 
tection. 

After  the  volunteers  had  advanced  into  the  brush 
a  distance  of  fifty  yards  Charley  Pitts  jumped  up  in 
front  of  Sheriff  Glispin  and  leveled  a  revolver  which 
exploded  almost  at  the  same  instant  as  the  sheriff's 
rifle.  The  robber  ran  a  couple  of  rods  in  a  cornering 
direction  and  fell  dead.  The  three  Younger  Brothers 
were  discovered  a  moment  later,  .and,  as  soon  as  they 
saw  they  were  in  for  it,  stood  up  and  opened  fire. 
One  of  the  posse  was  slightly  wounded  and  another 
had  a  watch  knocked  into  flinders.  Six  of  the  posse 
returned  the  volley,  the  sheriff  being  busy  reloading 
and  so  well  directed  were  their  shots  that  Cole  and 
Jim  dropped  on  the  ground,  groaning  with  the  pain 
of  shattered  bones.  Capt.  Murphy  fired  rapidly  with 
a  Colt's  revolver;  Rice  and  Severson  had  carbines, 
while  Vaught,  Bradford  and  Pomeroy  attacked  with 
double-barrelled  shot  guns. 

While  discharging  his  pistol  Capt.  Murphy  was 
struck  by  a  44  calibre  ball,  but  fortunately  the  bullet 
hit  a  pipe  in  his  vest  pocket  which  so  spent  its  force 
that  the  only  result  was  a  painful  bruise.  After  the 
first  skirmish  the  bandits  retreated  a  little  further 
which,  while  hiding  from  the  attacking  party,  exposed 


in 

DC 
UJ 

O 

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o 

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3- 
h 

Q, 
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THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  219 

themselves  to  a  large  body  of  men  stationed  on  the 
north  side  of  the  thicket;  a  volley  of  gun  and  pistol 
shots  drove  them  back  again  to  within  twenty  yards 
of  the  seven  volunteers.  Cole  and  Jim  were  now 
entirely  helpless,  in  fact  Jim  was  suffering  so  badly 
from  the  wound  in  his  mouth  that  he  had  been  unable 
to  assist  his  brothers  in  defending  themselves. 

Bob,  with  one  arm  hanging  broken  by  his  side,  stood 
his  ground  between  the  other  two,  and  continued  to 
blaze  away  with  a  revolver  in  his  left  hand,  aiming 
first  at  one  end  of  the  line,  and  then  at  the  other, 
then  at  the  centre,  but  apparently,  trying  rather  to 
scare  the  men  off  than  to  hit  anybody.  One  re- 
volver being  exhausted,  he  was  handed  another.  As 
the  posse  kept  on  shooting,  however,  he  finally  called 
out  to  let  up,  as  the  boys  were  "  all  shot  to  pieces." 
The  sheriff  made  him  throw  down  his  pistol  and 
walk  forward  into  the  line,  when  he  was  secured. 
Out  of  all  the  shots  fired  at  him  only  one  had  taken 
effect,  wounding  him  slightly  in  the  side.  The 
broken  arm  he  had  carried  all  the  way  from  North- 
field.  The  prisoners  were  secured  and  taken,  with 
the  dead  bandit,  to  Madelia,  and  placed  under  the 
surgical  care  of  Drs.  Overholt  and  Cooley.  They  con- 
fessed that  they  were  the  Youngers,  but  always  re- 
fused to  give  any  information  as  to  their  confederates. 
Cole  had  a  rifle-ball  under  the  right  eye,  which  para- 
lyzed the  optic  nerve,  and  has  never  yet  been  extrac- 
ted. He  also  had  a  large  revolver  bullet  in  the  body 
and  a  shot  through  the  thigh,  which  he  got  at  North- 


220  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

field,  and  was  wounded  altogether  in  the  fight  eleven 
times.  Jim  was  looked  upon  as  a  hopeless  case  by  the 
surgeons.  He  had  eight  buckshot  and  a  rifle  ball 
in  the  body.  An  ugly  wound  in  the  shoulder  had  been 
received  at  Northfield,  and  he  had  lost  nearly  half 
his  jaw  by  a  minie  bullet.  Bob  was  the  only  one 
who  was  able  to  remain  on  his  feet  at  the  surrender. 
The  wound  he  had  received  at  Northfield  had  shat- 
tered his  elbow  so  as  to  leave  his  arm  and  hand  stiff 
forever.  All  the  old  wounds  were  almost  festering 
for  want  of  attention.  After  they  had  rested  and 
had  their  wounds  dressed,  every  effort  was  made  to 
get  them  to  tell  who  were  the  other  two,  but  without 
avail.  They  were  always  on  their  guard.  One  day 
a  man  went  in  to  them  and  said  word  had  just  been 
received  that  their  two  comrades,  the  James  Boys, 
had  been  overtaken,  and  one  killed  and  the  other 
wounded  and  captured. 

"  How  do  you  know  they  are  the  James  Boys  ?  " 
said  Cole. 

"  The  wounded  man  confessed." 

"  Which  one  was  killed  ?  " 

"  Frank." 

"  Which  oae,  I  say  ?  The  big  one  or  the  Hide 
one  ?  " 

"  The  big  one." 

"  Did  they  say  anything  about  us?  " 

"No." 

"  Good  boy  to  the  last !  " — the  old  guerrilla  ex- 
clamation to  show  that  a  man  was  game.     And  that 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  221 

was  all  that  could  be  got  out  of  them.  They  were 
ready  to  talk  about  the  "  big  one "  and  the  "  lit- 
tle one,"  but  that  was  all.  No  names  were  in  their  vo- 
cabulary. They  would  not  tell  who  their  dead 
comrades  were.  The  two  killed  in  town  were  posi- 
tively identified,  however,  as  Clell  Miller  and  Bill 
Chadwell.  Miller  first  came  into  bandit  fame  in 
connection  with  the  Corydon  bank  robbery,  and  was 
afterward  with  the  band  at  the  Otterville  and  Mun- 
cie  robberies.  He  was  a  hard  fighter  under  Quan- 
trell.  Chadwell  was  said  to  have  been  driven  out  of 
Minnesota  for  horse-stealing  once.  His  father  is 
reported  as  having  identified  his  body.  Other  re- 
ports have  it  that  his  family  belonged  in  Kansas. 
The  one  killed  at  Madelia  was  Charles  Pitts,  or  more 
properly  Charles  Wells.  His  chief  record  was  made 
at  Baxter  Springs  and  Otterville. 

Worn  out,  festering  with  desperate  wounds,  ex- 
posed to  terribly  inclement  weather,  camping  without 
blankets  in  the  cold  nights  of  a  Northern  autumn, 
and  above  all,  not  having  had  a  full  meal  in  two 
weeks,  the  Younger  brothers  gave  an  exhibition  of 
endurance  in  this  retreat  which  must  be  taken  as  an 
illustration  of  unparalleled  heroism,  which  only  the 
most  remarkable  constitutions  could  survive. 

After  the  death  of  Chadwell  and  Miller  they  were 
carried  into  an  empty  store  on  Mill  Square,  where 
they  remained  for  some  time  the  object  of  popular 
gaze  and  attention.  Chadwell's  death  wound  was 
located  about  one  inch  to  the  right  of  the  sternum, 


222  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

tearing  away  his  lungs  and  passing  out  at  the  back 
below  the  shoulder-blade.  Clell  Miller  was  struck 
by  a  minie  ball  which  penetrated  the  left  breast  just 
below  the  clavicle.  Besides  this  wound  he  was 
struck  in  the  shoulder  and  face  by  a  charge  of  shot, 
evidently  fired  from  Stacy's  gun. 

The  captured  Younger  brothers  were  taken  to 
Madelia  where  they  received  surgical  attention  at  the 
Flanders  House.  Cole  and  Jim  were  placed  in  the 
same  bed,  while  Bob  was  accommodated  in  another 
room.  Their  wounds,  though  of  a  serious  character, 
were  pronounced  not  dangerous.  During  their  stay  at 
Madelia  they  were  daily  visited  by  hundreds  of  men 
and  women,  many  of  the  latter  bringing  testimonials 
of  regard  for  the  heroism  displayed  by  the  stricken 
bandits.  Cole  Younger,  though  badly  wounded,  re- 
ceived his  visitors  in  a  most  affable  manner,  and  all 
the  brothers  demeaned  themselves  in  such  a  way 
as  to  win  the  respect  of  all  who  called,  each  having 
some  kind  and  cheerful  words  with  which  to  answer 
even  impertinent  questions.  After  some  telegraphic 
correspondence  between  the  Governor,  who  was  at- 
tending the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia, 
and  Capt.  Macy,  his  secretary,  an  order  was  re- 
ceived to  place  the  prisoners  in  the  county  jail  at 
Faribault,  the  county  seat  of  Rice  county,  and  to 
convey  the  remains  of  the  dead  bandit  to  St.  Paul, 
which  was  accordingly  done,  the  dead  body  being 
given  to  the  Surgeon  General  of  the  State  for  em- 
balming. 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  223 

After  the  Younger  brothers  were  incarcerated  in 
jail,  several  detectives  from  northwestern  cities,  and 
James  McDonough,  chief  of  the  St.  Louis  police, 
met  in  St.  Paul  and  went  by  special  train  to  Fari- 
bault to  interview  and  identify  the  prisoners.  The 
entertaining  trio  had  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able 
to  receive  their  visitors  in  excellent  style.  When 
the  party  entered  the  jail  they  found  Cole  and  Bob 
smoking  and  reading  the  daily  papers.  Jim,  howev- 
er, was  still  suffering  severely  from  the  wound  in 
his  mouth.  A  very  interesting  conversation  of  more 
than  two  hours  duration  was  had,  in  which  no  infor- 
mation was  gleaned  of  importance. 

Miss  Retta  Younger,  a  sister  of  the  bandits,  and  a 
lovely  lady  of  refinement  and  unexceptionable  char- 
acter, seventeen  years  of  age,  visited  the  brothers 
directly  after  their  capture ;  her  grief  and  refined 
deportment  gained  for  her  the  sympathy  of  every 
one,  and  the  impression  she  created  was  of  the  most 
favorable  nature.  Mrs.  Fannie  Twyman,  an  aunt, 
was  also  with  the  brothers,  and  she,  too,  met  with 
the  highest  esteem  from  the  citizens  of  Faribault. 

The  Grand  Jury  that  was  summoned  returned  four 
bills  of  indictment  against  the  captured  bandits,  and 
Cole  Younger  was  specially  charged  with  murdering 
the  Norwegian,  which  bill  was  found  on  the  testimony 
of  two  witnesses,  who  swore  they  saw  Cole  commit 
the  deed. 

On  the  7th  of  November  the  district  court  con- 
vened, Judge  Lord  presiding.     The  prosecution  was 


224  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

represented  by  the  prosecuting  attorney,  George 
N.  Baxter,  Esq.,  and  the  prisoners  had  for  their 
counsel  Thomas  Rutledge,  Esq.,  of  Medalia,  and 
Bachelder  &  Buckham,  of  Faribault.  It  was  the  in- 
tention of  the  Youngers  to  plead  "not  guiliy,"  but 
when  they  were  forced  to  stand  a  trial  on  the  charge 
of  murder  in  the  first  degree,  in  order  to  avoid  capi- 
tal punishment,  they  entered  a  plea  of  "  guilty.'1 
Had  the  charge  of  murder  been  confined  to  Hay- 
wood, the  brothers  would  have  stood  a  trial,  because 
they  could  have  proved,  positively,  that  neither  of 
them  fired  the  fatal  ball  at  the  cashier,  and  as  a  con- 
viction could  only  have  resulted  in  a  life  sentence, 
they  could  have  afforded  to  take  the  chances. 

After  entering  the  plea  of  "  guilty,"  Judge  Lord 
ordered  the  prisoners  to  stand  up  and  receive  sen- 
tence. The  order  of  the  court  was  that  each  of  the 
brothers  should  be  confined  in  the  State  penitentiary 
at  Stillwater,  for  the  period  of  their  natural  lives- 
When  this  sentence  was  pronounced,  the  young  and 
beautiful  sister  almost  fainted;  recovering  her 
strength  she  fell  on  Cole's  neck  and  gave  expression 
to  such  intense  suffering  of  mind  that  nearly  every 
one  in  the  court-room  was  moved  to  tears.  Sheriff 
Barton  could  hardly  persuade  the  devoted  sister  to 
abate  her  manifestations  of  grief.  Thenceforth  she 
did  not  leave  her  brothers  until  they  were  conveyed 
to  the  penitentiary,  to  which  place  she  accompanied 
them,  and  when  circumstances  compelled  them  to 
part  she  was  fairly  overwhelmed  with  sorrow.     Her 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  225 

love  was  fully  reciprocated  by  the  erring  brothers, 
and  such  an  attachment  could  not  fail  in  creating  a 
strong  bond  of  sympathy  between  the  citizens  and 
the  unhappy  sister. 


A  PROPOSITION  TO  MURDER  JIM 
YOUNGER. 

The  wound  received  by  Jim  Younger  in  the  fight 
at  Northfield,  while  in  no  sense  dangerous,  was  the 
most  unfortunate  blow  that  struck  the  bandits.  The 
hemorrhage  from  his  shattered  mouth  was  so  pro- 
fuse, that  a  trail  of  blood  was  left  behind  him,  easily 
distinguishable  by  the  pursuers.  Two  miles  from 
Dundas  and  a  little  more  than  one  hour  after  fleeing 
out  of  Northfield,  the  bandits  stopped  at  a  farm- 
house and,  borrowing  a  pail,  they  repaired  to  the 
spring  where  the  wounded  men  were  bathed  and  ev- 
ery effort  was  made  to  stay  the  bleeding  of  Jim's 
mouth.  Water,  however,  seemed  to  aggravate  the 
difficulty.  His  linen  duster  was  torn  into  bandages, 
but  the  wound  being  difficult  to  bind,  the  cloths 
were  soon  saturated  and  had  to  be  thrown  away,  fur- 
nishing another  indication  of  the  retreat.  The  hem- 
orrhage continued  until  Jim  became  so  weak  that  it 
was  necessary  for  Cole  and  Bob  to  ride  beside  and 
support  him  in  the  saddle.  This  retarded  the  fugi- 
tives for  several  days,  while  the  woods  were  fairly 
swarming  with  their  pursuers, 
15 


226  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

On  the  13th,  while  the  party  were  hobbling 
through  swamps  and  finding  every  avenue  guarded, 
Jesse  James — so  it  is  reported  by  an  ex-guerrilla 
who  has  maintained  relations,  for  many  years,  with 
the  James  and  Younger  Boys — spoke  to  Cole  Youn- 
ger about  as  follows : 

"  Cole,  we  are  in  a  bad  fix,  and  there  is  only  one 
way  out,  so  it  appears  to  me.  Our  trail  is  so  plain 
that  a  blind  man  can  follow  it ;  if  we  are  surrounded 
it  means  death  to  us  all.  It's  a  terrible  thought,  but 
the  circumstances  are  terrible.  Jim  cannot  live ;  -he 
is  almost  dead  now.  We  can't  continue  our  retreat 
with  him;  we  can't  hide,  and  to  carry  him  along 
with  us  will  only  result  in  certain  death  to  the  whole 
party.  None  of  us  could  consent  to  his  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  men  now  hunting  us,  and  therefore, 
everything  considered,  I  think  it  would  be  right  to 
dispose  of  him,  thereby  ending  his  sufferings  which 
must  finally  end  in  his  death ;  we  could  then  travel 
faster  and,  I  think,  escape." 

Cole  and  Bob  Younger  looked  at  Jesse  for  some 
moments  before  replying ;  that  they  were  mad  there 
could  be  no  doubt.     Finally  Cole  replied: 

"  Jesse  James,  you  are  a  cold-hearted  villain ;  a 
very  monster  that  I  cart  never  again  associate  with. 
Now,  here,  let  us  separate.  If  Frank  (James)  shares 
your  sentiments,  or  Charley  (Pitts)  entertains  such  a 
wish,  take  your  own  route  and  never  meet  me  again. 
To  kill  my  brother  !  why,  I'll  stay  by  him  till  he  dies 
and  then  I'll  carry  his  dead  body  with  me  as  long  as 
my  strength  makes  it  possible." 


THE  YO  UNGER  BR  O  THERS.  227 

Frank  James  expressed  some  dissent  from  Jesse's 
proposition,  as  did  Charley  Pitts,  but  it  was  finally 
agreed  that  the  James  Brothers  should  go  their  way, 
as  Cole  and  Bob  could  no  longer  endure  Jesse's  com- 
pany. It  was  thus  the  party  separated,  Pitts  remain- 
ing with  the  Youngers. 

The  fraternal  devotion  of  Cole  and  Bob  Younger 
never  needed  stronger  manifestation.  They  did  re- 
main with  their  stricken  brother ;  carried  him  through 
swamps,  over  streams,  into  the  deepest  recesses  of 
the  forest,  and  when  their  own  wounds,  deep  and 
terrible,  had  become  so  festered,  and  their  limbs 
stiffened,  that  further  progress  was  impossible, 
they  laid  their  precious  charge  down  tenderly  upon 
the  leaves  and  there  remained,  exhausted  and  pros- 
trate, until  the  capture  was  consummated.  What 
noble  hearts  to  be  concealed  beneath  the  exterior  of 
these  outlaws  I 


AN  INTERESTING   CORRESPONDENCE 
FROM  COLE  YOUNGER. 

Since  the  arrest  of  the  Younger  Brothers  more 
than  a  hundred  attempts  have  been  made  by  book- 
writers,  to  secure  a  history  of  the  noted  outlaws  from 
their  own  lips.  These  efforts  were  made,  principally, 
by  correspondence,  but  not  a  few  sanguine  authors 
and  reporters  have  visited  the  penitentiary  and  used 
all  the  force  of  persuasive  eloquence,  and  proffered 


228  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

money  considerations  to  the  Youngers  for  a  recital 
of  their  interesting  exploits.  The  manner  in  which 
these  influences  resulted,  is  told  in  Cole  Younger's 
first  letter,  which  is  given  in  full  herewith. 

Being  acquainted  with  so  many  of  the  old  chums 
of  the  Younger  and  James  Boys,  who  knew  my  pur- 
pose of  preparing  a  history  of  the  famous  bandits, 
time  and  again  I  was  assured  by  them,  that  a  letter 
to  Cole  Younger  would  be  answered.  At  length  I 
wrote  to  warden  Reed,  of  the  Minnesota  peniten- 
tiary, requesting  his  influence  with  the  Youngers,  in- 
ducing them  to  write  to  me.  In  due  time  the  warden 
replied  that  the  inflexible  rule  of  the  three  brothers 
was  to  make  no  reply  to  any  communication  indicat- 
ing a  purpose  like  the  one  I  manifested.  But  being 
more  especially  desirous  of  demonstrating  my  dis- 
position not  to  do  the  incarcerated  brothers  any  in- 
tentional injustice,  I  wrote,  addressing  each  of  the 
Youngers  in  person,  acquainting  them  with  my  pur- 
pose and  requesting  an  answer. 

The  reply  received  is  as  follows : 

Stillwater,  Minn.,  Oct.  20,  1880. 
J.  W.  Buel,  Esq., 

Dear  Sir : — Your  letter  was  received  some  days  ago. 
The  reason  I  did  not  answer  soon  was  owing  to  the  fact 
that  when  we  were  first  captured,  I  received  a  great  many 
letters  from  different  parties  all  wanting  to  write  a  history  of 
my  life,  and  to  be  just  to  all  I  replied  to  none.  But  as 
yours  is  the  only  letter  of  the  kind  I  have  received  for  a 
long  time,  I  have  concluded  to  write  you. 

Without  intending  the  least  disrespect,  permit  me  to  say : 
positively,  I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  writing  a  history  of 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  229 

any  kind.  Now  if  you  have  determined  to  prepare  such  a 
history — and  I  presume  you  have — I  will  aid  you  only  so 
much  as  to  refer  you  to  those  who  served  with  me  in  the 
Lost  Cause.  You  will  find  the  names  of  all  of  them  in 
Edwards'  book,  entitled  "  Shelby  and  his  Men."  Most  of 
these  men  still  live  in  Jackson,  Cass,  Johnson  and  Lafayette 
counties ;  I  am  willing  to  abide  by  any  statement  they  may 
make  concerning  me. 

As  for  anything  since  the  war,  a  true  statement  would  fall 
flat.  I  am  aware  that  my  name  has  been  connected  with 
all  the  bank  robberies  in  the  country ;  but  positively  I  had 
nothing  to  do  with  any  one  of  them.  I  look  upon  my  life 
since  the  war  as  a  blank,  and  will  never  say  anything  to 
make  it  appear  otherwise.  The  world  may  believe  as  it 
pleases. 

I  presume  that  you  are  a  professional  writer,  and,  like 
many  others,  have  been  led  to  believe  by  sensational  news- 
paper reports,  that  there  are  historical  facts  sufficient  con- 
nected with  my  life  to  make  an  interesting  book,  but  it  is  a 
mistake,  unless  nine-tenths  of  the  matter  is  fiction. 

As  to  the  facts  connected  with  my  career  in  Minnesota, 
I  will  refer  you  to  those  equally  well  qualified  to  give  them  ; 
the  sheriff  of  Watawan  county,  Sheriff  Barton  of  Rice 
county,  the  clerks  in  the  bank  at  Northfield,  and  Warden 
Reed,  of  this  place.  They  could  give  you  all  the  facts  you 
could  possibly  get  from  me.  I  should  not  object  to  a  visit 
from  you,  but  will  tell  you  in  advance  that  I  will  give  none 
of  the  details  of  my  past  life.  I  would  as  willingly  assist 
you  as  any  person,  but  my  answer  is  alike  to  all.  I  am  one 
who  never  insinuates  ;  I  use  nothing  but  plain  words.  As 
for  the  names  of  the  two  men  who  were  with  us  at  North- 
field,  they  will  ever  remain  unknown  to  the  world,  so 
far  as  I  am  concerned. 

Very  respectfully, 

T.  C.  Younger. 

This  letter,  while  affording  little  information  or 
encouragement,  was,  nevertheless,  so  respectful  in  its 


230  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

t©ne,  that  I  immediately  answered  it  at  considerable 
length,  repeating  my  earnest  desire  to  do  all  the 
brothers  justice,  which  I  feared  could  not  be  done 
without  some  necessary  statements  from  them.  I 
proffered  space  in  my  book  for  any  epistolary  vindi- 
cation they  might  choose  to  make,  and  then  sought  to 
impress  upon  them  the  importance  of  accepting  the 
offer.  I  referred  to  a  great  many  matters  of  interest 
to  the  public  and  gave  my  assurance  (which  I  trust 
has  in  no  sense  been  violated)  that  I  should  treat 
them  in  the  fairest  possible  manner,  but  that  in  the 
absence  of  positive  testimony  the  circumstantial  evi- 
dence I  was  compelled  to  use  might  do  them  griev- 
ous wrong,  a  result  I  was  exceedingly  anxious  to 
avoid.  To  this  communication  I  received  the  follow- 
ing courteous  and  very  gratifying  reply : 

Stillwater,  Minn.,  Oct.  31,  1880. 
J  W.  Buel,  Esq., 

My  Dear  Sir : — Your  letter  of  the  24th  inst.  came  to 
hand  in  due  time,  and  through  the  kindness  of  Warden  Reed 
I  am  permitted  to  answer  the  same.  I  am  glad  to  learn 
that  you  receive  my  refusal  to  assist  in  preparing  a  history 
of  my  life  in  the  spirit  I  intended,  for  I  am  sure  I  meant  no 
discourtesy. 

I  observe  by  your  letter  that  you  still  entertain  the  opin- 
ion that  there  are  historical  facts  connected  with  ray  life 
worthy  of  record  in  print,  but  I  assure  you  that  such  an  idea 
is  erroneous,  at  least  that  is  my  opinion.  You  had  better 
confine  yourself  to  the  war  record  as  long  as  possible,  for 
when  you  leave  that  it  is  like  launching  a  boat  into  the 
ocean  without  a  rudder,  compass,  or  lighthouse,  the  voyage 
becomes  doubtful. 

You  announce  your  desire  to  question  me  concerning  the 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  331 

James  Boys.  Of  course  I  have  no  idea  of  the  nature  of 
your  questions,  but  if  they  involve  information  respecting 
what  they  have  been  accused  of  since  the  war,  then  I  will 
make  no  answer.  If  either  of  them  ever  trusted  me  with  a 
secret,  there  is  no  power  on  earth  that  could  induce  me  to 
betray  that  trust — nor  that  of  any  one  else.  No  matter 
how  much  I  might  condemn  the  act,  or  how  bitter  enemiei 
we  might  have  become  afterward,  it  would  be  all  the  same. 

You  speak  of  seeing  George  Shepherd.  He  surely  told 
you  that  Jess  (Jesse  James)  and  I  were  never  friends,  for  he 
knows  all  that  prevented  us  from  settling  our  difficulty,  in 
'72,  on  the  field  of  honor,  was  the  intercession  of  Frank 
and  others.  Frank  and  I  were  always  good  friends,  but  we 
have  seen  little  of  each  other  since  the  war.  He  was  a 
brave  soldier,  a  true  friend  and  a  gentleman.  Now  don't 
obtain  the  idea  from  this  that  I  wish  to  leave  an  impression 
that  Jess  was  all  to  blame  in  our  differences,  or  who  was  in 
fault,  he  or  myself.  I  am  sure  I  would  not  lay  all  the  bur- 
den of  blame  upon  him  now,  as  he  is  dead  or  worse  than 
dead.  I  never,  for  a  moment  doubted  the  fact  of  George 
Shepherd  shooting  him. 

You  speak  of  writing  Shepherd's  history.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  he  had  more  ups  and  downs  during  the  war  than 
any  other  man  connected  with  Quantrell.  I  have  been  in 
some  very  close  places  with  him  myself.  We  were  together 
most  of  the  time  until  the  fall  of  '63,  when  I  took  my  com- 
pany to  Louisiana.  I  have  not  seen  him  but  twice  since 
the  first  of  January,  1866,  and  then  but  a  short  time.  I 
know  nothing  of  his  career  since  the  war.  He  is  the  quick- 
est man  on  earth  ;  a  stranger  might  take  him  for  a  coward, 
but  in  that  he  would  be  mistaken,  for  Shepherd  is  a  brave 
man.  You  have,  probably,  learned  that  he  is  no  friend  of 
mine,  or  I  have  been  told  by  others  he  was  not,  but  I  have 
no  idea  what  he  has  against  me.  I  was  very  much  sur- 
prised to  learn  that  he  was  trying  to  injure  me  after  I  was 
down,  unless  he  thinks  I  am  like  Conrad,  in  Byron's  Cor- 
sair: 

"  Fallen  too  low  to  fear  another  fall." 


232  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

That  may  be  true,  but  I  hate  to  think  of  being  assisted 
in  my  fall  by  one  with  whom  I  have  periled  my  life,  and  for 
the  same  cause.  If  he  thinks  he  has  grounds  for  becoming 
an  enemy  of  mine,  it  must  be  the  result  of  newspaper  re- 
ports, for  if  he  was  connected  with  any  of  the  bank  robber- 
ies, he  knows  I  was  not  present,  and  if  he  was  not  there, 
what  right  has  he  to  declare  who  was  ?  But  enough  of  this, 
for  I  still  wish  him  well,  according  to  his  deserts. 

I  am  very  thankful  for  your  kind  offer  to  let  me  have  space 
in  your  book,  should  I  wish  to  say  anything  in  my  own  de- 
fense. I  have  nothing  to  say,  unless  it  would  be  a  request, 
using  the  language  of  Othello : 

"Speak  of  me  as  I  am,  nothing  extenuate 
Nor  set  down  aught  in  malice." 

If  you  choose  you  may  use  a  letter  I  wrote  to  my  brother- 
in-law,  Lycurgas  Jones,  of  Cass  county,  in  November,  1874, 
and  published  in  the  Pleasant  Hill  Review. 

You  request  my  opinion  of  all  the  books  pretending  to 
record  the  incidents  of  my  life.  With  the  exception  of  Maj. 
Edwards'  history  all  the  others  are  humbugs. 

In  relation  to  Walley  I  will  say :  if  I  were  what  the 
world  paints  me,  there  could  be  no  excuse  except  cowardice 
for  my  neglect  to  kill  him.  During  the  war  I  did  every- 
thing in  my  power  to  get  hold  of  him,  but  failed.  I  went 
into  Kansas  City,  Independence,  and  other  places,  when 
they  were  garrisoned  by  from  three  hundred  to  a  thousand 
Federals,  in  search  of  Walley,  but  could  never  find  him. 

When  I  returned  home  from  the  war  I  found  a  widowed 
mother,  with  little  children  to  take  care  of,  and  to  be  able 
to  assist  them,  I  buried  everything  connected  with  the  war. 
But  I  was  forced  to  leave  home  again,  and  then  I  could 
have  killed  Walley  nearly  any  time,  but  only  by  assassina- 
tion— slipping  to  his  house  and  shooting  him  through  the 
window.  Some  people  might  have  perpetrated  such  a  deed, 
but  I  could  never  pollute  my  soul  with  such  a  crime.  I 
challenged  him  during  the  war,  but  he  paid  no  attention  to 
it,  hiding  from  me  all  the  time  in  the  most  cowardly  man- 
ner. I  could  not  shoot  him  like  a  dog,  especially  when  I 
knew  he  had  a  wife  and  children. 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  233 

There  is  one  thing  I  wish  you  would  note  respecting  the 
character  of  the  guerrillas.  It  is  the  popular  impression 
among  people  of  other  States  that  we  were  sneak-thieves 
like  the  bushwhackers  of  Virginia,  Tennessee  and  Arkan- 
sas, who  hid  in  the  mountains  and  sallied  out  during  the 
night  to  kill  old  men  and  rob  defenceless  women  and  chil- 
dren. This  you  know  is  a  fallacy  and  an  unjust  stigma  up- 
on the  guerrillas. 

If  you  wish  to  know  how  I  treated  citizens  during  the 
most  furious  days  of  the  war,  I  will  refer  you,  for  that  infor- 
mation, to  the  Union  men  in  Cass,  Jackson  or  Gentry  coun- 
ties, or  personally,  to  Martin  O.  Jones,  or  Sampson,  the 
Jew,  in  Independence.  You  are  acquainted  in  Jackson 
county  and  know  these  men  to  be  honorable  and  prominent 
Unionists.  The  only  bulldozing  I  ever  did  was  in  making 
men  who  remained  at  home  during  the  winter  of  '62  get 
wood  for  the  women  and  children  ;  for  the  wives  of  Union 
as  well  as  Confederate  soldiers. 

The  question  has  been  asked  thousands  of  times :  "  Why 
have  the  Youngers  been  protected  and  befriended  so  long 
by  the  people  in  the  western  counties  of  Missouri  ?  "  There 
are  two  reasons:  First,  because  they  never  believed  we 
were  guilty  of  the  crimes  charged  upon  us ;  and  second, 
because  I  befriended  them  during  the  war.  At  the  most 
critical  period  of  the  great  strife,  in  1862,  we  had  five  dif- 
ferent farms  in  Cass  and  Jackson  counties,  with  corn  cribs 
full  of  corn.  When  food  became  difficult  to  obtain,  I  told 
all  the  poor  people  to  help  themselves  and  take  what  corn 
they  needed,  without  charge.  I  made  no  distinction  then 
between  Federals  and  Confederates.  Wash.  Sallie  was  at 
the  county  farm,  adjoining  ours,  at  the  time  ;  you  probably 
know  him ;  he  will  confirm  what  I  say,  and  will  tell  you  that 
we  had  five  thousand  bushels  of  corn  at  that  farm  which  I 
distributed  to  the  poor  without  distinction.  There  are 
many  mothers,  wives  and  daughters  still  living  who  will 
credit  me  with  an  honorable  part  during  the  war,  and  of 
risking  my  life  in  the  defense  of  their  fathers,  husbands  and 
brothers.     I  never,  under  any  circumstances,  refused  to  aid 


234  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

a  friend,  regardless  of  political  predilections,  a  claim  which 
not  one  of  my  old  comrades  will  dispute. 

I  have  written  you  more  than  I  intended  when  I  com- 
menced. I  will  ask  you  to  pay  no  attention  to  what  I  have 
said,  until  all  my  assertions  are  corroborated  by  other 
sources,  satisfactory  to  yourself;  then  use  the  facts  as  you 
deem  proper. 

I  was  a  soldier  and  fought  to  hurt,  but  I  never  molested 
non-combatants.  T.  C.  Younger. 


A  PERSONAL  INTERVIEW  WITH 
COLE  YOUNGER. 

The  lengthy  communication  of  October  31st,  from 
Cole  Younger,  determined  me  upon  a  visit  to  Still- 
water for  the  purpose  of  having  a  personal  interview 
with  the  noted  brothers,  and  in  accordance  with 
this  decision  I  left  St.  Louis  on  the  5th  of  November 
and  arrived  at  my  destination  on  the  morning  of  the 
7th.  After  introducing  myself  to  Warden  Reed, 
that  very  affable  prison  official  conducted  me  at  once 
to  a  reception-room  where,  after  a  very  short  wait, 
Cole,  Jim  and  Bob  Younger  walked  in,  by  whom  I 
was  greeted  very  cordially.  My  first  tacit  observa- 
tion was,  "  did  I  ever  see  three  finer  looking  men  ?  " 
Cole  is  the  largest,  being  about  six  feet  three  inches 
in  height,  but  all  the  brothers  measure  considerably 
over  six  feet,  and  their  bodies  are  knit  together  with 
that  smooth  compactness  which  indicates  the 
strength  of  steel.     They  were  models  of  form,  and  if 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  235 

I  were  a  woman  I  should  have  no  hesitancy  in  pro- 
nouncing each  of  them  decidedly  handsome.  But 
better  than  all  this,  they  bear  themselves  like  perfect 
gentlemen  and  never  fail,  so  I  am  told,  in  producing 
the  most  favorable  impression  upon  all  their  visitors,  of 
whom  they  have  not  a  few.  Cole  is  the  spokesman 
of  the  trio,  and  in  the  beginning  it  is  well  to  admit 
that  a  shrewder  questioner  or  witness  never  made  use 
of  brain  and  tongue  than  he.  Physiology  and  phre- 
nology both  unite  in  adapting  him  for  the  bar ;  as  a 
lawyer  he  would  undoubtedly  have  made  a  phenom- 
inal  success;  the  magnificence  of  his  physique  and 
sharp  wits,  which  manifest  themselves  in  cunning 
speech  and  comprehension  and  quick  ideas,  leave  no 
doubt  of  what  his  career  as  an  advocate  would  have 
been.     His  first  words  were : 

"  Well,  I  learn  from  your  letters  that  you  have  de- 
cided to  write  a  history  of  the  James  and  Younger 
Boys." 

"Yes,"  said  I,  "such  has  been  my  purpose  for 
some  years  past,  and  much  of  the  work  is  already 
completed ;  what  remains  to  be  finished  I  have  left 
until  some  very  necessary  information  may  be  gath- 
ered from  you." 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  see  you,"  he  responded ;  "but 
I  fear  that  resolutions,  which  I  have  long  since  taken, 
will  prevent  me  from  making  your  visit  a  profitable 
one."  . 

I  replied :  "  The  object  of  my  visit  does  not  con- 
template the  forging  of  secrets  from  your  breast; 


236  THE  BORDER  0  UTLA  WS. 

from  the  tenor  of  your  communications  I  judged 
your  character ;  that  there  were  many  things  which 
were  with  you  inviolably  sacred ;  I  was  also  assured 
that  no  trust  confided  to  your  keeping  would  ever 
be  vioalated.  Upon  such  subjects  I  have  no  wish  to 
question  you,  but  only  upon  such  matters  as  regard 
yourself,  the  war  and  other  things,  to  speak  of 
which  you  will  not  compromise  your  manhood  or 
honor." 

"  I  cannot  see  what  interest,  then,  an  interview  with 
me  would  possess  more  than  that  with  any  other  of 
the  ex-guerrillas,  many  of  whom  are  still  living,"  he 
replied. 

I  answered  :  "  The  relations  to  the  public  are  differ- 
ent, and  then  there  are  some  things  of  which  you 
might  honorably  speak,  chiefly  concerning  yourself, 
that  would  be  of  special  interest  to  the  thousands 
who  have  read  of  your  exploits." 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  propound  your  questions,  and 
what  I  can  conscientiously  answer  I  will,  but  when 
you  tread  upon  sacred  grounds  I  shall  be  quick  to 
inform  you." 

Q.  In  the  first  place  explain,  if  you  can,  some  of 
the  causes  which  produced  the  guerrillas  of  Missouri. 

A.  It  would  require  a  history  to  answer  that 
question  properly.  The  people  of  western  Missouri 
are,  in  some  respects,  very  peculiar.  We  will  take 
Jackson  county  (where  I  was  born)  for  instance.  In 
that  section  the  people  seemed  to  be  born  fighters, 
the  instinct  being  inherited  from  a  long  line  of  an- 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  237 

cestors.  It  would  have  been  a  good  idea  if,  in  your 
book,  you  had  given  a  short  history  of  that  county ; 
the  facts  might  easily  be  collected  in  Independence 
where  many  old  settlers  still  reside,  who  are  familiar 
with  some  of  the  bitter  antagonisms  which  distin- 
guished the  early  settlement  of  that  district. 

Joe  Smith  and  Brigham  Young  laid  out  Independ- 
ence, but  very  soon  thereafter  enough  citizens  of  the 
county  collected  to  drive  them  off,  after  several  stub- 
born fights.  The  Mormons  withdrew  from  the  State 
and  settled  their  community  at  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  but 
in  a  few  years  afterward  about  fifty  of  them  again 
came  into  Missouri  and  settled  in  Platte  county. 
They  had  scarcely  established  themselves,  however, 
before  another  company  of  Jackson  county  citizens, 
chiefly  from  around  Independence,  organized  to  drive 
them  off.  Among  these  determined  citizens  were 
Richard  Fristoe,  my  grandfather,  Wood  Nolen, 
Smallwood  Nolen  and  Sam  Owens.  While  crossing 
the  river  in  a  hand-ferry-boat,  the  ferryman,  who 
had  been  bribed  by  the  Mormons,  succeeded  in 
turning  the  boat  over  midway  in  the  Missouri  river. 
A  large  number  were  drowned,  but  the  four  I  have 
mentioned  succeeded  in  swimming  ashore. 

Independence  was,  for  a  long  time  previous  to 
the  war  with  Mexico,  headquarters  for  Mexican 
freighters.  The  freight  passing  between  Mexico  and 
Missouri  was  carried  on  pack-mules,  many  Jackson 
county  men  being  engaged  in  that  business. 

It  was  in  Jackson  county  chiefly,  also,  that  Col. 


238  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

Doniphan  recruited  his  famous  regiment  for  the 
Mexican  war  and  made  that  wonderful  march  known 
in  history  as  De  rando  del  rnurato,  (the  journey  of 
death).  After  subduing  New  Mexico,  Doniphan 
marched  to  Chihuahua,  which  then  had  40,000  in- 
habitants, and  raised  the  United  States  flag  over  the 
citadel ;  and  from  this  latter  place  he  continued  his 
march  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Independence  became  also  the  headquarters  and 
fitting-out  post  of  the  Forty-Niners  when  the  great 
pilgrimage  to  California  began.  Majors  Russell  and 
Waddell,  the  greatest  overland  freighters  the  world 
has  ever  produced,  lived  in  Independence. 

In  the  war  of  1856  Jackson  county,  and  the  settle- 
ment about  Independence  especially,  was  more 
largely  represented,  perhaps,  than  any  other  section. 
This  diabolical  war,  distinguished  by  the  most  atro- 
cious cruelties  the  conqueror  can  inflict  upon  his 
captive,  prepared  the  way,  and  created  the  guerrilla 
in  1862.  Natural  fighters,  conducting  a  war  of  spo- 
liation and  reprisal, — through  the  brush, — trained  to 
quick  sorties  and  deadly  ambuscades,  how  easily 
they  drifted  as  their  instincts  inclined,  and  became 
guerrillas  by  an  irresistible  combination  of  circum- 
stances, such  as  I  have  explained. 

Q.  Your  answer  is  very  comprehensive  and  inter- 
esting. Now,  will  you  be  kind  enough  to  tell  me 
what  finally  became  of  the  "  Black  Flag "  which 
Quantrell  carried  ?  Geo.  Shepherd  gave  me  a  very 
interesting  history  of  that  flag,  which  I  shall  relate  in 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  239 

my  book,  but  he  was  unable  to  tell  me  what  eventu- 
ally became  of  that  ominous  symbol. 

A.  Jim  Lane  carried  a  black  flag  until  the  fall  of 
1863,  when  we  captured  it,  and  sometime  afterward 
we  sent  it  to  Sterling  Price.  I  think  both  flags  were 
subsequently  cut  up  and  made  into  over-shirts  which 
some  of  the  boys  wore. 

Q.  Do  you  know  where  Quantrell  is  buried? 

A.  He  sleeps  in  the  Catholic  grave-yard  at  Louis- 
ville, Ky. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  or  not  Jesse  and  Frank 
James  are  full  brothers? 

A.  Surely  their  mother  is  the  same,  and  I  presume 
their  father  was  also  the  same,  but  he  was  dead  long 
before  I  knew  the  family. 

Q.  Will  you  explain  the  causes  and  circumstances 
which  led  you  to  Northfield ;  also,  explain,  please, 
how  you  became  separated  from  the  two  comrades 
who  succeeded  in  escaping?  I  have  been  told  that 
the  shooting  of  Jim  Younger,  in  the  mouth,  caused 
such  profuse  hemorrhage  that  the  pursuers  could 
trail  you  by  the  blood ;  that  one  of  the  two  who  es- 
caped insisted  on  killing  Jim  in  order  to  destroy  the 
trail,  and  that  it  was  this  proposition  which  caused 
the  separation. 

A.  Positively,  I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  writ- 
ing or  furnishing  any  information  concerning  the 
Northfield  robbery,  or  any  other  robbery.  I  do  not 
•ay  this  through  any  unkindness ;  I  have  made  the 
same  reply  to  life-long  friends,   among  whom  were 


240  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

two  brothers-in-law.  I  should  say  the  same  to  sister 
Retta,  whom  I  love  better  than  all  the  world,  if  she 
should  ask  me  the  question. 

Q.  How  long  was  each  of  you  in  the  surgeon's 
care  after  your  capture  ? 

A.  Jim  and  I  are  still  receiving  surgical  attention, 
and  will  be  the  remainder  of  our  lives. 

Q.  How  often  have  you  and  your  brothers  been 
wounded  ? 

A.  I  have  been  wounded  altogether  twenty  times ; 
eleven  of  these  wounds  were  received  at  Northfield. 
Jim  was  wounded  four  times  at  Northfield,  and  six 
times  in  all.  Bob  was  never  wounded  until  the  pur- 
suit in  Minnesota,  where  he  was  struck  three  times. 

Q.  Can  you  tell  me  who  was  in  command  at  Inde- 
pendence and  issued  the  order  that  thereafter  guer- 
rillas taken  by  capture  would  not  be  treated  like  or- 
dinary prisoners  of  war?  Shepherd  says  he  is  not 
certain,  but  thinks  it  was  Maj.  Blunt. 

A.  It  was  Jennison,  Colonel  of  the  15th  Kansas 
cavalry. 

Q.  What  are  your  respective  duties  in  the  peni- 
tentiary ? 

A.  We  have  no  special  duties.  Jim  and  I  being 
on  the  hospital  list  do  very  little,  while  Bob  performs 
various  duties.  I  occupy  much  of  my  time  in  theo- 
logical studies  for  which  I  have  a  natural  inclination. 
It  was  the  earliest  desire  of  my  parents  to  prepare 
me  for  the  ministry,  but  the  horrors  of  war,  the 
murder  of  my  father,  and  the  outrages  perpetrated 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  241 

upon  my  poor  old  mother,  my  sisters  and  brothers, 
destroyed  our  hopes  so  effectually  that  none  of  us 
could  be  prepared  for  any  duty  in  life  except  re- 
venge. 

The  tear  which  stole  into  Cole's  eye  told  how 
much  he  suffered  in  the  remembrance  of  those  sor- 
row-laden days  when  war  drove  happiness  eternally 
from  the  Younger  household.  Out  of  deference  to 
that  honorable  feeling,  I  could  not  question  him  fur- 
ther upon  such  an  extremely  unpleasant  subject. 

Q.  How  do  you  regard  your  treatment  in  the 
prison  ? 

A.  I  will  say  that  since  our  capture  we  have  met 
with  uniform  kindness,  and  while  in  the  penitentiary 
our  relations  with  the  officers  have  been  cordially 
pleasant,  and  for  their  considerate  and  kind  dispo- 
sition we  feel  profoundly  grateful.  There  has  never 
been  so  much  as  a  hard  thought  between  us.  While 
I  think  of  it,  I  should  like  to  ask  a  favor:  In  your 
last  letter  you  seemed  to  intimate  that  I  had  self  in 
view  by  referring  to  the  liberality  with  which  I  dis- 
tributed corn  to  the  poor  in  1862-3.  Now  the  favor 
I  ask  is  this :  In  the  first  place,  many  of  my  old  com- 
rades are  married  and  settled  down  in  Missouri, 
where  they  are  living  peaceful  lives.  I  want  it  un- 
derstood that  all  these  men  fought  for  principle,  not 
for  plunder,  and  that  they  were  true-hearted,  honor- 
able soldiers,  fighting  for  what  they  esteemed  was  a 
righteous  cause.  In  relation  to  me  giving  corn,  and 
also  pork  and  beef,  to  the  poor  during  that  hard 
16 


242  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

winter,  when  food  was  so  difficult  to  obtain,  I  will 
only  say  that  I  was  following  an  example  set  by  my 
blessed  and  sainted  mother,  whose  charitable  heart 
never  failed  to  respond  to  distress.  These  facts  I 
desire  you  to  make  understood  in  your  book. 

Q.  How  much  land  did  your  father  own  at  the 
time  of  his  assassination  ? 

A.  He  had  3,500  acres,  a  greater  part  of  which 
was  under  cultivation,  with  barns,  houses,  etc.  All 
this  property  went  with  the  ravages  of  the  war.  My 
part  has  long  since  been  spent  in  keeping  out  of  the 
clutches  of  mobs. 

I  thanked  Cole  and  his  brothers  for  the  marked 
kindness  they  had  shown  me,  and  after  again  ex- 
plaining the  possible  necessities,  owing  to  conflict- 
ing and  current  errors,  of  my  connecting  them  with 
crimes  of  which  they  were  perhaps  as  innocent  as 
myself,  we  shook  hands  cordially  and  I  withdrew. 

After  my  return  to  St.  Louis  I  instituted  inquiries, 
by  letter,  in  order  to  receive  a  denial  or  corrobora- 
tion of  Cole  Younger's  statements,  respecting  his 
liberality  and  conduct  during  the  war.  I  communi- 
cated with  several  Union  men,  all  of  whom,  while 
pronouncing  Cole  a  desperate  fighter,  yet  accorded 
him  full  credit  for  his  magnanimity  in  helping  the 
poor,  relieving  distress  and  affording  every  possible 
protection  to  women  and  children,  regardless  of  po- 
litical sentiments. 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  243 

HOW  A  DUEL  TO  THE  DEATH  WAS 
PREVENTED. 

The  position  taken  by  Cole  Younger  with  respect 
to  talking  upon  incidents  subsequent  to  the  war, 
prevented  me  from  obtaining  all  the  information  I  so 
earnestly  sought.  That  portion  of  his  letter  refer- 
ring to  a  proposed  duel  between  himself  and  Jesse 
James,  which  was  prevented  by  Frank  James  and 
others,  possessed  for  me  considerable  interest,  and  to 
learn  the  facts  leading  to  so  desperate  a  conclusion, 
I  again  visited  Kansas  City  and  secured  an  interview 
with  George  Shepherd,  in  which  he  gave  me  the  en- 
tire story,  as  follows : 

"  When  I  left  Kentucky  after  the  expiration  of 
my  term  of  imprisonment,  I  visited  my  sister  at  Lee's 
Summit,  in  Jackson  county.  On  the  day  following 
my  return,  which  I  think  was  early  in  1872,  Jesse 
James,  hearing  of  my  arrival,  came  ever  to  see  me. 
In  the  course  of  our  conversation  he  said: 

"  *  George,  I  saw  Cole  yesterday/ 

"  '  Well,  how  is  he  and  what  did  he  say?'  I  replied. 

"Jess  looked  a  little  serious,  and  responded: 

"  '  He  told  me  to  tell  you  that  under  no  circum- 
stances did  he  ever  want  to  see  you  again  ;  Cole  is 
bitter  against  you,  George/ 

"  My  answer  was :  '  I  don't  know  what  he  has  against 
me,  but  you  can  tell  him  he  need  not  trouble  about 
meeting  me,  or  put  himself  in  a  place  to  see  me  if  he 
don't  want  to/ 


244  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

"  Two  days  after  this  meeting  I  went  up  to  see  old 
Silas  Hudspeth,  near  the  Six  Mile  district.  I  was 
ignorant  of  the  cause  which  had  disturbed  Cole's 
friendly  relations  with  me,  and  I  was  determined  not 
to  make  any  special  effort  to  find  out.  I  reached 
Hudspeth's  house  some  time  after  dark,  and  riding 
up  to  the  front  gate,  I  called  out,  l  hello  ! '  The  old 
man  came  to  the  door  and  I  told  him  who  I  was ;  he 
drew  back  a  step  and  spoke  to  some  one  in  the 
house,  after  which  he  invited  me  to  get  down  and 
come  in.  Just  as  I  stepped  on  the  porch,  Cole, 
speaking  from  the  inside  where  I  could  not  see  him, 
said :  ■  Shepherd,  I  am  in  here,  you  ain't  afraid,  are 
you?' 

"  I  replied  :  ■  That's  all  right ;  of  course  I'm  not 
afraid,'  and  then  I  walked  in.  Cole  was  sitting  in  a 
chair  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  and  I  at  once  saw 
he  had  a  pistol.  We  spoke  very  little,  confining  our 
conversation  to  the  old  man.  When  it  came  bed- 
time, Hudspeth  told  us  to  occupy  a  bed  together. 
After  we  undressed  and  lay  down,  I  saw  Cole  reach 
up  under  his  pillow  and  draw  out  a  pistol  which  he 
put  beside  him  under  the  cover.  Not  to  be  taken 
unawares,  I  at  once  grasped  my  own  pistol  and 
shoved  it  down  under  the  covers  beside  me.  To 
save  my  life  I  couldn't  think  of  any  reason  Cole 
could  have  for  becoming  an  enemy.  We  talked  very 
little,  but  just  lay  there  watching  each  other.  He 
was  behind  and  I  on  the  front  side  of  the  bed,  and 
during  the  entire  night  we  looked  into  each  others' 


THE  YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  245 

eyes,  and  never  once  moved.  It  was  the  most 
wretched  eight  hours  I  ever  spent  in  my  life.  Of 
course,  I  wouldn't  percipitate  a  fight  or  shoot  him 
without  cause,  so  I  waited,  determined  only  to  pro- 
tect my  own  life.  Singularly  enough,  Cole  was  ac- 
tuated by  the  same  ideas. 

"  As  quickly  as  dawn  began  to  appear,  I  got  up  and 
dressed,  as  did  also  Cole ;  he  never  for  one  instant 
took  his  eye  off  me,  but  followed  my  actions  and 
kept  within  an  arm's  length  of  me  continually.  You 
can  imagine,  how  peculiar  I  felt ;  if  I  could  have  con- 
cluded what  produced  his  anger,  then  I  would  have 
known  how  to  act,  but  my  ignorance  of  the  cause  of 
his  offense,  and  finding  him  apparently  watching  for 
a  chance  to  kill  me  so  dead,  instantly,  that  I  could 
not  return  his  fire,  made  me  wretched  beyond  ex- 
pression. 

u  Old  man  Hudspeth  finally  got  up  and  prepared 
breakfast,  he  being  an  old  bachelor,  and  when  we 
sat  down  to  the  table,  Cole  broke  our  suspense  by 
remarking  to  me :  '  I  heard,  yesterday,  that  you 
intended  to  kill  me  on  sight ;  have  you  lost  your 
nerve  ? ' 

u  My  surprise,  I  know,  was  indicated  by  my  looks. 
I  replied :  ■  In  the  name  of  God,  who  told  you  such 
a  thing?  Why,  I  never  for  a  moment  even  harbored 
a  hard  feeling  toward  you.  Who  told  you  that, 
Cole?' 

"  '  I  met  Jess  yesterday,  and  he  told  me  that  you 
sent  that  message  to  me  by  him,'  Cole  responded. 


246  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

"  Then  the  whole  thing  appeared  plain  to  me.  I 
had  learned  at  Lee's  Summit  that  Jesse  James  bore 
Cole  a  mortal  hatred,  and  he  had  become  a  bearer  of 
exasperating  falsehoods  between  us  so  as  to  provoke 
a  quarrel  that  would  end  in  one  of  us  being  shot. 

"  I  told  Cole  how  infamous  the  lie  was  and  then  re- 
lated to  him  what  Jess  had  told  me,  conveying  his, 
(Cole's)  wishes  not  to  see  me.  Of  course,  full  ex- 
planations followed,  and  then  Cole  was  one  of  the 
maddest  men  I  ever  saw.  He  despised  Jesse  James, 
but  the  primary  cause  of  the  difficulty  between 
them  was  never  told  me. 

"  We  remained  at  Hudspeth's  house  until  nearly  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  as  we  were  getting  ready 
to  leave,  Jesse  and  Frank  James  and  John  Younger 
came  riding  up  the  road  and  hitched  their  horses  to 
the  fence  with  the  intention  of  coming  in ;  Cole, 
however,  met  them  and  I  saw  at  once  that  there  was 
a  cloud  of  difficulty  in  the  horizon  several  times 
bigger  than  a  man's  hand.  As  they  advanced  to- 
ward each  other,  Cole  drew  his  pistol  and  threw  the 
muzzle  directly  in  Jess'  face,  calling  him,  at  the 
same  time,  all  the  abusive  names  he  could  think  of. 
We  finally  parted  them,  or  rather,  quieted  Cole,  after 
which  Jess  and  Frank  rode  off  in  one  direction,  while 
Cole  and  John  Younger  took  the  opposite. 

"  Shortly  after  this  occurrence  the  James  Boys 
went  to  Louisiana  and  were  followed,  in  a  few  weeks 
afterward,  by  Cole  and  John  Younger.  I  don't 
think  the  Youngers  knew  where  the  James  Boys  had 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  247 

gone.  Anyhow,  Cole  and  John  decided  to  visit 
John  Jarrette,  who  was  living  at  a  point  in  Louisiana 
I  don't  care  to  mention.  As  they  came  riding  to- 
ward Jarrette's  house,  it  chanced  that  the  James 
Boys  were  there  and  saw  them.  Immediately  Jess 
and  Frank  seized  their  double-barreled  shot-guns 
and,  running  out  of  the  house,  they  took  positions 
behind  two  trees,  as  if  intending  to  murder  the 
Youngers.  Cole  saw  and  recognized,  them.  Now, 
Frank  James  was  a  friend  of  Cole's  and  he  did 
everything  in  his  power  to  quiet  Jess,  but  the  reason 
he  seized  his  gun  and  joined  Jess,  was  in  order  to 
help  his  brother  if  both  Cole  and  John  should  at- 
tack him. 

"  There  never  was  a  more  fearless  man  than  Cole 
Younger,  and  Jesse  James  knew  that  if  he  tackled 
him,  it  meant  a  fight  to  the  death.  Cole,  with  his 
pistol  in  hand,  dared  Jess  to  fire  at  him,  and  then 
gave  him  a  challenge  to  come  out  from  behind  the 
tree  and  fight  him  at  five  or  ten  paces  with  shot-guns 
or  pistols.  Jess  showed  some  disposition  to  accept 
the  challenge,  and  it  did  look  as  though  there  would 
be  one  or  more  funerals  in  the  woods,  maybe,  before 
dark.  Fortunately  for  both  of  them,  Frank  James, 
John  Younger  and  Jarrette  succeeded  in  preventing 
what  would  have  been  a  deadly  meeting." 

Being  unable  to  obtain  an  answer  to  the  question 
from  the  Youngers  themselves,  after  the  conclusion 
of  Shepherd's  story,  the  writer  asked  him  for  an 
opinion   respecting   the   guilt   or   innocence   of  the 


248  THE  BORDER  O  UTLA  WS. 

Youngers  as  to  the  charges  of  bank  and  train  rob- 
beries made  against  them. 

His  reply  was  as  follows:  "Speaking  of  Cole 
Younger,  I  have  no  hesitancy  in  saying  that,  outside 
of  the  affair  at  Northfield,  I  don't  believe  he  was 
ever  connected  with  the  James  Boys,  or  that  he  ever 
participated  in  any  of  the  robberies.  This  much,  I 
know ;  I  have  heard  the  James  Brothers  propose 
raids  of  that  kind  to  him,  asking  him  to  join  them, 
and  every  time,  in  my  presence,  he  not  only  refused 
absolutely,  but  manifested  a  feeling  of  insult  and 
pronounced  the  schemes  outrageous,  even  going  so 
far  as  to  express  a  hope,  that  if  they  perpetrated 
such  robberies,  they  would  be  caught  and  punished 
as  they  deserved.  I  also  know  that  he  was  not  at 
Russellville.  As  to  the  Otterville  train  robbery,  I  am 
aware  that  Hobbs  Kerry's  confession,  which  seemed 
to  be  corroborated  by  the  attack  at  Northfield  after- 
ward, surrounds  Cole  by  very  strong  circumstantial 
evidence  of  guilt,  but  I  have  been  told  by  one  who 
knew  all  the  parties  implicated  in  the  robbery,  that 
Cole  was  not  there." 

The  writer  then  asked  the  further  question : 

"  Tell  me,  please,  if  Cole  and  Jesse  James  have 
been  such  implacable  enemies,  how  it  happened 
that  they  joined  together  in  the  scheme  to  rob  the 
Northfield  bank  ?  " 

Shepherd  made  response :  "  Well,  that  is  a  ques- 
tion which  I  should  like  as  much  to  have  answered, 
maybe  more  so  than   yourself.     I  feel  certain,   from 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  249 

facts  learned  since  that  attack,  that  they  were  never 
reconciled  to  each  other,  and  how  it  happened  they 
rode  together  in  that  raid,  puzzles  me  more  than  I 
can  tell  you.  I  mean  to  find  out,  some  time,  how- 
ever." 


ATTEMPTS  TO  LIBERATE  THE  YOUNGER 
BROTHERS. 

Considering  the  cunning  and  notoriety  of  the 
imprisoned  bandits,  it  is  not  astonishing  that  at- 
tempts to  liberate  them  should  be  made.  More 
than  two  score  of  the  old  guerrillas  are  still  living, 
all  men  of  remarkable  courage,  and  their  devotion  to 
one  another  recognizes,  in  a  measure,  the  binding  ob- 
ligation of  the  Black  Oath,  though  the  desperate 
days  of  its  constant  use  are  over.  Aside  from  the 
strong  bands  of  friendship  forged  by  the  direful  ne- 
cessities of  war,  in  which  Cole  Younger  was  such  a 
consummate  hero,  there  are  other  considerations 
which  create  a  sympathy  on  the  part  of  hundreds  of 
western  Missourians  for  the  incarcerated  outlaws. 
It  has  been  reported,  but  upon  authority  which,  to 
say  the  least,  is  far  from  conclusive,  that  a  large  sum 
of  money  was  raised  by  voluntary  contributions  for 
the  purpose  of  bribing  the  penitentiary  officials  to 
permit  an  escape  of  the  Youngers ;  one  publication 
fixes  the  sum  so  raised  at  #70,000,  but  this  is  too  ab- 
surd for  any  rational  person  to  credit. 


250  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

Some  time  in  1877  there  was  an  attempt  to  release 
the  bandits,  but  it  was  so  clumsily  arranged  that 
there  is  grave  doubt  if  either  the  Youngers  or  the 
prison  authorities  ever  knew  of  it.  The  circumstan- 
ces, which  were  published  about  two  years  ago  in  a 
country  paper  of  north-west  Missouri,  are,  as  far  as 
remembered,  about  as  follows :  Canvassing  as  a  book- 
agent  for  "  Edwards'  Noted  Guerrillas"  in  the  north- 
western part  of  Missouri,  was  an  ex-guerrilla  whose 
admiration  for  Cole  Younger  amounted  to  infatua- 
tion. He  placed  so  much  confidence  in  the  ability 
of  the  Youngers  to  effect  an  escape  from  any  place 
of  confinement,  that  it  was  his  frequent  boast,  to 
those  about  him,  that  the  Stillwater  officers  would 
very  soon  be  treated  to  a  first-class  surprise.  But 
when  he  saw  month  after  month  pass  away,  with  the 
Youngers  still  deprived  of  their  liberty,  he  began  to 
consider  the  means  employed  to  hold  them  in  cap- 
tivity. In  the  latter  part  of  1877,  this  enthusiastic 
admirer  of  his  imprisoned  comrade  chanced  to  meet 
a  friend  who  had  also  marched  under  Quantrell's 
black  flag,  and  was  then  pursuing  a  peripatetic  call- 
ing, but  not  for  philosophic  purposes.  The  two,  af- 
ter exchanging  the  formulas  of  friendship,  very 
naturally  began  a  discussion  of  the  Youngers'  im- 
prisonment. They  remained  together  for  several 
days,  devoting  their  entire  time  to  propositions  look- 
ing to  a  release  of  their  friends. 

After  proposing  and  debating  more  than  a  score 
of  schemes,  the  two  anxious  ex-guerrillas  concluded 


THE   YOUNGER  BROTHERS.  251 

to  adopt  some  bold  measure,  as  they  could  depend 
upon  the  Youngers  in  every  emergency  however 
dangerous.  Their  decision  was  that  each  should 
leave  Missouri  and  proceed  directly  to  Minnesota ; 
they  were  to  assume  false  names ;  appear  as  strang- 
ers to  each  other,  and  then  commit  some  crime  that 
would  cause  them  to  serve  a  short  term  in  the  peni- 
tentiary. The  most  reliable  friends  of  the  Youngers 
were  made  acquainted  with  the  plan  intended  to  be 
put  into  execution,  and  were  advised  to  hold  them- 
selves in  readiness  to  lend  any  necessary  assistance. 
The  faithful  couple,  who  were  ready  to  suffer  any 
punishment,  if  there  were  any  hope  it  would  result 
in  the  liberation  of  their  captive  comrades,  went  into 
Minnesota  by  different  routes,  and  as  per  their  ar- 
rangement, one  stole  a  watch  and  the  other  purloined 
some  article  of  small  value.  The  result  of  their 
thefts,  however,  was  far  from  what  they  expected. 
The  one  who  took  the  watch  was  sentenced  to  the 
penitentiary  for  one  year,  while  the  other,  though 
very  anxious  to  accompany  his  companion,  and  mak- 
ing no  defense  whatever,  was  committed  to  the 
county  jail  for  a  short  period.  This  unforeseen 
termination  of  their  trials  completely  destroyed  the 
purposes  of  the  scheme.  The  one  sentenced  to  the 
penitentiary  found,  upon  entering  that  penal  institu- 
tion, that  there  were  no  possible  means  of  communi- 
cating with  the  Youngers,  owing  to  the  rigid  discip- 
line of  the  prison,  and  he  was,  therefore,  forced  to 
serve  his  full  time,  at  hard  labor,  without  even  the 


2$2  THE  BORDER  OUTLAWS. 

consolation  of  conveying  his  well-intended  purpose 
to  his  captive  friends.  After  his  liberation  from  the 
penitentiary,  the  ex-guerrilla  returned  to  the  same 
county  from  whence  he  departed  with  a  determina- 
tion to  release  Cole  Younger,  especially,  and  sorrow- 
fully repeated  the  result  of  his  abortive  attempt;  no 
persuasion,  however,  could  induce  him  to  explain  the 
details  of  his  scheme,  the  reason  evidently  being, 
because  of  an  anticipation  that  it  would  some  day 
be  renewed  with  better  success. 


JESSE  JAMES. 

Notice. — These  portraits  were  engraved  from  late  photographs,  ob- 
tained at  some  expense  and  danger ;  and  having  been  copyrighted  for 
this  book  all  persons  are  warned  against  using  them  elsewhere. 


THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

AM  AUTHENTIC  AND    THRILLING    HISTORY    OF 
THE  NOTED  OUTLAWS, 

Jesse  i  Frank  James, 

And  their  Bands  of  Highwaymen. 

COMPILED     FROM      RELIABLE    SOURCES    ONLY    AND     CONTAINIMO 

THE    LATEST   FACTS    IN    REGARD    TO    THESE 

DESPERATE    FREEBOOTERS. 

BIT   0".  "W.   BUEL, 

Author  of    "Heroes   of  the   Plains,"    "Legends   of  the   Ozarks," 
and  other  popular  works. 


ILLUSTRATED  WITH  L/TR  POSITS  ^D  COLORED  PLATES. 


ST.  LOUIS,  MO.: 

HISTORICAL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 

1881. 


Copyrighted,  1880,  by  DAN.  LINAHAN. 


Ryan,  Jacks  &  Co.,  Printers, 

ST.  LOUIS. 


PREFACE. 


The  career  of  Jesse  and  Frank  James  has  been  as  check- 
ered as  the  sunlight  that  streams  through  a  latticed  window, 
and  their  crimes  are  a  commentary  upon  the  development 
of  intellectual  America.  No  one  can  afford  to  ignore  the 
lesson  which  the  lives  of  these  outlaws  teach,  and  therefore 
a  correct  history  of  their  desperate  deeds  becomes  neces- 
sary as  a  part  of  the  country's  annals,  in  juxtaposition  with 
the  commendable  heroism  of  our  brightest  characters.  So 
many  improbable  and  romantic  incidents  have  been  cred- 
ited to  these  noted  brothers  by  sensational  writers ;  so 
many  dashing  escapades  and  hair-breadth  escapes  attributed 
to  them,  which  they  never  e"ven  dreamed  of,  that  thinking 
people,  especially  in  the  East,  have  begun,  almost,  to  regard 
the  James  Boys  as  a  myth,  and  their  deeds  as  creations  of 
sensational  dreamers. 

It  has  been  my  purpose  for  more  than  three  years  to  pre- 
pare a  true  history  of  these  noted  outlaws,  and  during  that 
time  material  has  been  collecting  which  is  now  given  to  the 
public  entirely  free  from  fulsome  description  or  elaborated 
sensation.  In  the  main  essentials  the  James  Boys  them- 
selves will  confirm  the  truthfulness  of  this  narrative,  which 
has  been  written  with  a  special  regard  for  candor  and  indis- 
putable facts  only. 

During  several  years  of  the  most  exciting  period  in  the 
career  of  these  noted  bandits,  I  was  engaged  as  reporter 
for  the  Kansas  City  press,  and  not  only  became  acquainted 
with  many  of  their  relatives  and  friends  who  reside  in  that 
section,  from  whom  were  obtained  numerous  facts  and  inci- 
17  b 


2  PREFACE. 

dents  never  before  published ;  but  my  duties  as  a  journal- 
ist gave  me  many  excellent  opportunities  to  learn  the  real 
truth  in  regard  to  many  of  their  most  daring  adventures,  to 
one  of  which  (the  robbing  of  the  cash-box  at  the  Kansas 
City  Fair)  I  was  an  eye-witness.  As  time  unfolds  the  mys- 
teries which  have  gathered  around  the  names  of  these  des- 
perate outlaws,  it  will  be  seen  that  this  is  the  most  faithful 
history  of  their  exploits  that  has  ever  been  presented  to  the 
public.  J,  W.  B. 

St.  Louis,  December  15,  1880. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PACK. 

PORTRAITS  OF  THE  JAMES  BROTHERS.  Frontispiece. 

After  Centralia,            -                -                -  8 

HANGING  OF  DR.   SAMUELS,  10 

Fleeing  from  Lawrence,               -               -  -                          18 

JESSE  JAMES'   RECEPTION,  38 

Romantic  Scenery  near  the  Mysterious  Cave,  -                           44 

Frank  James'  Combat  with  three  Mexicans,      -  50 

Recruiting  after  a  Raid,                -                -  -                •           57 

Hobbs  Kerry  watched  by  a  Detective  in  a  Gambling  Den,  91 

SHOOTING  OF  JESSE  JAMES,                   -  -                I07 

SETTLING  AN  OLD  SCORE,           -  -                        112 

Frank  James  wins  his  Bride,                •                -  -                 121 

An  Engineer  who  meant  fight                    •  »             '•         125 

3* 


4* 


THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 


OOITTBITTS; 

JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES— their  youth, 

Career  as  Guerrillas,  ... 

First  Skirmishes,  -  -  n- 

Desolation  of  Lawrence,       - 

Desperate  Fighting  by  Squads, 

Direful  Massacre  at  Centralia, 

Fortune  Turning  Against  the  Guerrillas, 

The  Whirlwind  of  Destruction  Changes,     - 

Jesse  James'  Career  in  Texas, 

Robbery  and  Murder, 

Plundering  a  Kentucky  Bank,     - 

Bank  Robbery  and  Murder, 

Mysterious  Hiding  Place  in  Jackson  Co., 

Terrible  Fight  in  Mexico,  - 

Plundering  an  Iowa  Bank,       - 

Another  Bank  Robbery  in  Kentucky, 

Robbing  the  Cash  Box  at  the  Kansas  City  Fair, 

Plundering  the  Ste.  Genevieve  Hank, 

Wrecking  and  Plundering  a  Train, 

The  Stage  Robbery  near  Hot  Springs, 

Train  Robbery  at  Gad's  Hill, 

Wicher's  Unfortunate  Hunt  for  the  James  Boys, 

Murdering  Cow  Boys  and"Driving  off  Cattle,     - 

The  Attack  on  the  Samuels  Residence,     - 

Assassination  of  Daniel  Askew, 

Tht  San  Antonio  Stage  Robbery,  -  • 


Page. 

7 

9 

12 

'5 

...      2) 

27 

30 

3' 

33 

36 

39 

41 

43 

47 

5i 

52 

54 

56 

60 

63 

66 

69 

73 

75 

79 

81 

CONTENTS. 


The  Great  Train  Robbery  at  Muncie, 
The  Huntington  Bank  Robbery, 
The  Rocky  Cut  Train  Robbery, 
Fatal  Attack  on  a  Minnesota  Bank, 
At  Glendale — the  Last  Great  Train  Robbery, 
Shooting  of  Jesse  James  by  George  Shepherd, 
Why  did  Shepherd  Shoot  Jesse  James  t 
Robbing  of  the  Mammoth  Cave  Stage, 
Personal  Characteristics  of  the  James  Boys,     - 
The  Union  Pacific  Express  Robbery, 
An  Interview  with  the  Younger  Brothers, 
Anecdotes  of  Jesse  and  Frank  James, 


«3 

86 

87 
92 
96 
100 
109 
X12 
117 

122 
132 
138 


THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES. 

THEIR  YOUTH. 

Strangely,  and  yet  a  not  uncommon  circumstance, 
Jesse  and  Frank  James  were  the  sons  of  a  respect- 
able Kentucky  minister  of  the  Baptist  persuasion. 
Rev.  Robt.  James,  "  in  the  good  old  times,"  as  he 
was  wont  to  call  the  early  days  of  his  ministry,  was  a 
great  camp-meeting  exhorter,  and  many  of  the  rock- 
ribbed  hills  of  middle  Kentucky  have  been  musical 
with  the  echoes  of  his  strong  voice.  Like  many 
other  pastoral  exhorters  and  close  communionists, 
the  Rev.  James  was  illiterate  so  far  as  "  book  learn- 
ing "  was  concerned,  but  his  sincerity  was  rarely 
debated.  It  has  been  asserted  that  he  passed  an 
academic  course  at  Georgetown  College,  but  the 
records  of  that  institution  show  the  name  of  no  such 
person.  Zerelda  Cole,  (the  mother  of  the  noted 
outlaws,)  was  married  to  the  Rev.  Robert  James 
in  Scott  county,  Kentucky,  the  same  county  in 
which  Georgetown  College  is  located;  this  fact, 
added  to  the  desire  to  heroize,  to  the  largest  pos- 
sible extent,  the  paternity  of  the  James  boys,  is 
doubtless  the  reason  for  ascribing  to  the  father  "  a 
finished  education  and  unusual  ability." 


8  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

"  Like  father,  like  son,"  is  a  very  ancient  oriental 
adage ;  but  it  does  not  apply  to  Jesse  and  Frank 
James,  though  it  is  true  that  their  dispositions  are 
due  to  maternal  inheritance.  In  fact,  the  wife's 
strength  of  will  and  uncompanionable  traits  of  char- 
acter resulted  in  a  final  separation  a  few  years  after 
their  removal  to  Clay  county,  Missouri,  in  1843. 
The  Rev.  James,  in  1849,  joined  in  the  pilgrimage 
to  California,  from  whence  he  never  returned ;  and, 
in  1857,  Mrs.  James  took  another  husband,  in  the 
person  of  Dr.  Reuben  Samuels.  It  is  quite  unim- 
portant to  follow  the  domestic  career  of  Mrs.  James, 
now  Mrs.  Samuels,  and  what  has  been  related  is 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  defining  the  inherited 
bent  and  inclination  of  the  parents  of  the  great 
outlaws. 

Jesse  James  was  born  in  Clay  county,  Missouri, 
in  1845,  while  Frank's  nativity  is  Scott  county,  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  was  born  in  1 84 1.  At  an  extremely 
early  age  they  displayed  traits  of  character  which 
have  ever  since  distinguished  them.  Their  hatreds 
were  always   bitter   and  their   cruelty    remorseless. 

They  manifested  especial  delight  in  punishing 
dumb  animals,  which  is  evidenced  by  their  cutting 
off  the  tails  and  ears  of  dogs  and  cats,  burying 
small  animals  alive,  and  diversions  of  every  kind 
which  would  inflict  the  most  grievous  pains. 
Among  other  boys  they  were  domineering  and 
cruel,    and    would    rarely   participate   in    innocent 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  g 

amusements.  They  were  never  subjected  to  paren- 
tal restraint  and  their  youth  was  passed  in  the 
most  perfect  indulgence.  At  the  age  of  ten  and 
fourteen  years,  respectively,  the  boys  were  pro- 
vided with  fire-arms,  in  the  use  of  which  they 
readily  became  proficient,  and  were  no  less  expert 
in  throwing  a  bowie-knife  which  they  could  send 
quivering  into  a  two-inch  sapling,  at  the  space  of 
fifteen  feet,  almost  without  fail. 


THEIR  CAREER  AS  GUERRILLAS. 

When  the  tocsin  of  war  sounded,  and  the  feverish 
thrill  "of  excitement  ran  through  the  nation,  boys 
though  they  were,  Jesse  and  Frank  James  were 
electrified  with  the  ominous  news  and  longed  to 
participate  in  the  affray  where  human  blood  might 
be  drawn  until,  like  a  fountain,  it  would  swell  into 
a  gory  river.  Soon  the  unmerciful  Quantrell,  that 
terrible  wraith  of  slaughter,  came  trooping  through 
Missouri  upon  an  errand  of  destruction,  and  attract- 
ed to  his  banner  many  impetuous  youths  of  the 
West,  among  whom  was  Frank  James;  Jesse  being 
the  junior  brother,  and  but  little  more  than  fourteen 
years  of  age,  was  rejected  by  Quantrell,  and  re- 
turned home  to  his  farm  labors  with  sorrow.  But 
he  did  not  remain  inactive.  The  family  being  in- 
tensely Southern  in  their  political  predilections,  all 


IO  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

possible  aid  and  sympathy  were  given  to  Quantrell. 
Many  dark  nights  Jesse  would  mount  his  best  horse 
and  ride  through  the  gloomy  wilderness  of  Western 
Missouri  until  he  gained  the  guerrilla  haunts,  where 
he  would  deliver  important  information  concerning 
the  movements  of  Federal  troops. 

The  part  played  by  Jesse  and  the  open  and  de- 
cided expressions  frequently  made  by  Dr.  Samuels 
and  his  decidedly  demonstrative  wife,  greatly  excited 
the  Federal  soldiers,  and  it  was  determined  to  make 
an  example  of  the  family.  Accordingly,  in  June, 
1862,  a  company  of  Missouri  militia  approached 
the  Samuels'  homestead,  which  is  near  Kearney,  in 
Clay  county,  and  first  meeting  Dr.  Samuels,  they 
soon  gave  him  to  understand  that  their  visit  was 
made  for  a  purpose   decidedly  unpleasant  to   him. 

A  strong  rope  was  produced  with  which  he  was 
securely  pinioned  and  then  led  away  from  the  house 
a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  yards.  Here  the 
rope  was  fastened  in  a  noose  around  his  neck,  while 
the  other  end  was  thrown  over  the  limb  of  a  tree, 
and  several  men  hastily  drew  him  up  and  left  him 
suspended  to  choke  to  death.  Mrs.  Samuels,  how- 
ever, had  followed  stealthily,  and  the  moment  the 
militia  had  departed  she  rushed  to  the  rescue  of 
her  husband,  whom  she  hastily  cut  down,  aad  by 
patient  nursing  saved  his  life.  The  enraged  troops 
decided  also  to  hang  Jesse  James,  whom  they  found 
plowing  in  the  field,  but  his  youth  saved  him  from 


X 

> 

z 

E? 

z 

Q 


O 
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r- 
CJ) 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  u 

any  other  violence  than  a  few  cuffs  and  the  produc- 
tion of  a  rope  with  a  suspicious  noose  which  they 
threatened  to  ornament  his  neck  with  if  he  again 
visited  the  guerrilla  camp. 

Instead  of  producing  the  desired  effect,  this  act 
of  the  militia  only  excited  Jesse  the  more,  and  led 
him  to  deeds  of  graver  importance.  He  continued 
to  communicate  almost  daily  with  Quantrell,  which 
so  exasperated  the  militia  that  they  paid  a  second 
visit  to  the  Samuels'  residence,  decided  upon  kill- 
ing both  Dr.  Samuels  and  the  daring  Jesse.  When 
they  reached  the  place,  however,  they  found  their 
intended  victims  absent,  but,  determined  not  to  re- 
turn without  some  trophy  of  their  revengeful  sor- 
tie, they  took  Mrs.  Samuels  and  her  daughter,  Miss 
Susie,  captive,  and  carried  them  to  St.  Joseph,  where 
they  were  kept  confined  in  jail  for  several  weeks. 
This  last  act  greatly  inflamed  Jesse's  passions,  and 
he  immediately  mounted  his  horse  and  again  rode  to 
Quantrell's  camp,  where,  after  detailing  the  partic- 
ulars of  this  last  outrage,  perhaps  exaggerating  the 
facts  some  in  order  to  make  his  appeal  more  effec- 
tive, he  begged  the  guerrilla  commander  to  accept 
his  services  as  a  private.  So  hard  did  he  plead  for 
permission  to  join  the  ranks  that  marched  under 
the  shadow  of  the  black  flag,  that  at  length  the 
barrier  which  his  youth  imposed  was  overlooked  and 
the  terrible  Quantrell  oath  was  administered  to  him. 


12  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 


THE  FIRST  SKIRMISHES. 

Up  to  this  time  the  guerrillas  had  been  engaged  in 
but  few  skirmishes,  their  services  consisting  chiefly 
in  small  foraging  expeditions,  making  themselves 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  topography  of  the 
country  preparatory  to  engaging  in  more  effective 
measures.  There  was  a  slight  brush  at  Richfield,  in 
which  .Captain  Scott,  with  twelve  of  Quantrell's 
men,  surprised  thirty  militia  whom  they  captured, 
after  killing  ten,  and  in  this  attack  Jesse  James  par- 
ticipated. Upon  his  return  to  camp  he  was  sent  out 
with  orders  from  Quantrell  to  scour  the  counties 
adjoining  Clay  and  locate  the  militia.  After  pass- 
ing through  Clinton  county  he  paid  a  short  visit  to 
his  mother,  who  received  him  with  many  manifesta- 
tions of  pleasure,  and  then  began  to  unload  herself 
of  the  valuable  information  she  had  gathered  for  the 
benefit  of  the  guerrillas.  She  told  him  that  the 
attack  on  Richfield  had  resulted  in  massing  the 
militia  for  a  determined  stroke,  and  that  the  troops 
were  concentrating  near  that  point;  that  Plattsburg 
had  been  almost  entirely  relieved  of  its  garrison  and 
would  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  guerrillas  if  they  chose 
to  profit  by  the  opportunity. 

Jesse  lost  no  time  in  communicating  the  situation 
to  Quantrell,  and,  accordingly,  three  days  after  the 
capture  of  the  squad  of  militiamen  at  Richfield, 
Captain  Scott  took  fifteen  men   and  silently  stole 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  13 

upon  Plattsburg,  which  he  found  defended  by  less 
than  a  score  of  Federals,  under  the  command  of  a 
lieutenant.  The  guerrillas  dashed  into  the  town 
about  3  p.  m.  (August  25th),  yelling  like  a  tribe  of 
Comanche  Indians.  The  citizens  fled  into  their 
houses  with  such  fear  that  few  ventured  to  look 
into  the  streets  even  through  key  holes.  The  Fed- 
eral lieutenant  chanced  to  be  in  the  public  square 
when  the  charge  was  made,  and  Jesse  James  had  the 
honor  and  credit  of  capturing  him.  The  rest  of  the 
militia  gained  the  court-house,  where  it  would  have 
been  impossible  to  dislodge  them,  and  to  have  at- 
tacked the  building  would  have  exposed  the  guer- 
rillas to  the  fire  of  the  enemy.  It  was  here  that  Jesse 
James'  strategy  and  military  tact  were  first  mani- 
fested. Turning  his  prisoner  (the  lieutenant)  over 
to  Captain  Scott,  he  said  in  a  loud  voice :  "  Captain, 
there  is  no  use  parleying  with  these  cut-throats; 
shoot  this  fellow  if  he  don't  order  his  men  in  the 
court-house  to  surrender  immediately."  Captain 
Scott  replied  that  he  would  if  the  court-house  was 
not  surrendered  in  two  minutes.  The  result  was  that 
Plattsburg  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  guerrillas,  who 
pillaged  the  town  and  gathered  booty,  consisting  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  muskets,  several  hundred 
rounds  of  ammunition,  ten  thousand  dollars  in  Mis- 
souri warrants,  besides  a  large  quantity  of  clothing, 
etc.  The  money  was  divided  among  the  partici- 
pating guerrillas,  each  of  whom  received  nearly  one 


14  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

thousand  dollars  in  warrants  besides  clothing  and 
other  articles  of  value.  The  guerrillas  compelled 
the  landlord  of  the  principal  hotel  to  prepare  them  a 
good  supper,  to  which  they  invited  their  prisoners, 
whom  they  paroled;  and  after  feasting  until  9 
o'clock  p.  m.,  they  withdrew  to  the  cover  of  the 
forest. 

After  raiding  Plattsburg,  Quantrell  broke  camp  and 
moved  southward,  passing  through  Independence, 
and  bivouaced  near  Lee's  Summit.  The  residents 
of  that  section  suffered  pitilessly  from  the  sack  and 
pillage  of  both  Federals  and  Confederates.  They 
occupied  a  middle  ground  which  was  subject  to 
the  incursions  of  both  armies,  and  what  was  left 
after  the  forage  of  the  Union  forces  was  remorsely 
appropriated  by  the  guerrillas.  There  were  skir- 
mishes almost  daily,  and  every  highway  was  red  with 
human  blood.  The  James  boys,  young  as  they  were, 
became  the  terror  of  the  border;  the  crack  of  their 
pistols  or  the  whirr  of  their  pirouetting  bowies  daily 
proclaimed  the  sacrifice  of  new  victims.  The  san- 
guinary harvest  grew  broader  as  the  sickle  of  death 
was  thrust  in  to  reap,  and  the  little  brooks  and  rivu- 
lets that  had  babbled  merry  music  for  ages  and  laved 
the  thirst  of  man  and  beast  with  their  crystal  water, 
suddenly  became  tinged  with  a  dye  fresh  from  the 
fountain  of  bitterest  sorrow.  And  thus  the  days 
sped  on  heavy  with  desolation.  Quantrell  and  his 
followers  were  scarcely  interrupted  by  the  militia,  who 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  15 

never  attacked  them  except  at  the  price  of  terrible 
defeat,  until  at  length  a  direful  scheme  was  proposed 
in  which  the  desperate  character  of  these  free  riders 
was  manifested  in  its  blackest  hues. 


THE  DESOLATION  OF  LAWRENCE. 

Lawrence,  Kansas,  a  thrifty  town  located  on  the 
Kaw  river,  was  selected  by  Quantrell  as  the  place 
upon  which  to  wreak  a  long -pent-up  vengeance. 
Sitting  around  the  camp  fire  on  the  night  of  August 
1 8th,  1863,  the  chief  of  the  black  banner  held  a  con- 
sultation with  Frank  and  Jesse  James,  the  Younger 
boys,  the  Shepherd  brothers,  and  others  of  his  most 
daring  followers,  as  to  the  next  advisable  move  upon 
a  place  which  would  furnish  the  best  inducements 
for  their  peculiar  mode  of  war.  There  was  a  concert 
of  opinion  that  Lawrence  was  the  most  available 
place.  The  point  having  been  selected,  Quantrell 
did  not  neglect  to  inform  his  followers  of  the  dan- 
ger such  an  undertaking  involved ;  that  their  road 
would  be  infested  with  militia,  the  forces  of  which 
would  be  daily  augmented  when  the  first  intimation 
of  the  purposes  of  the  guerrillas  should  be  made 
known  ;  that  it  would  be  ceaseless  fighting  and  count- 
less hardships,  and  many  would  be  left  upon  the 
prairies  to  fester  in  the  sun.  He  then  called  his 
command  to  arms  and  acquainted  every  man  with 


16  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

the  decision  in  the  following  speech :  "  Fellow  sol- 
diers, a  consultation  just  held  with  several  of  my 
comrades  has  resulted  in  a  decision  that  we  break 
camp  to-morrow  and  take  up  a  line  of  march  for 
Lawrence,  Kansas ;  that  we  attack  that  town  and, 
if  pressed  too  hard,  lay  it  in  ashes.  This  under- 
taking, let  me  assure  you,  is  hazardous  in  the  ex- 
treme. The  territory  through  which  we  must  pass 
is  full  of  enemies,  and  the  entire  way  will  be  beset 
by  well  armed  men  through  whom  it  will  be  neces- 
sary for  us  to  carve  our  way.  I  know  full  well  that 
there  is  not  a  man  in  my  command  who  fears  a  foe; 
that  no  braver  force  ever  existed  than  it  is  my  honor 
to  lead,  but  you  have  never  encountered  danger  so 
great  as  we  will  have  to  meet  on  our  way  to  Law- 
rence ;  therefore  let  me  say  to  you,  without  doubting 
in  the  least  your  heroism,  if  there  are  any  in  my 
command  who  would  prefer  not  to  stake  their  lives  in 
such  a  dangerous  attempt,  let  them  step  outside  the 
ranks." 

At  the  conclusion  of  Quantrell's  remarks  a  shout 
went  up  from  every  man,  "  On  to  Lawrence ! "  Not 
a  face  blanched,  but  on  the  other  hand  there  was  but 
one  desire,  to  lay  waste  the  city  on  the  Kaw. 

On  the  following  day  the  order  was  given  to 
"mount,"  and  with  that  dreadfully  black  flag 
streaming  over  their  heads  the  command,  two  hun- 
dred strong,  turned  their  faces  to  the  west.  As  they 
crossed  the  Kansas  line  at  the  small  town  of  Aubrey, 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  17 

in  Johnson  county,  Quantrell  compelled  three  men, 
whom  he  found  sitting  in  front  of  a  small  store  kept 
by  John  Beeson,  to  accompany  him  as  guides.  The 
command  passed  through  Johnson  county  midway 
between  Olathe  and  Spring  Hill,  and  through  the 
northern  part  of  Franklin  county.  When  they 
reached  Cole  creek,  eight  miles  from  Lawrence,  the 
three  guides  were  taken  into  a  clump  of  thick  woods 
and  shot  by  Jesse  and  Frank  James.  One  of  the 
party,  an  elderly  man,  begged  piteously  to  be  spared, 
reminding  his  executioners  that  he  had  never  done 
them  any  wrong,  but  his  prayers  for  mercy  ended  in 
the  death  rattle  as  a  bullet  went  crashing  through 
his  neck. 

Quantrell  had  been  agreeably  mistaken  concern- 
ing the  resistance  he  expected  to  encounter.  Not  a 
foe  had  yet  appeared,  but  he  never  permitted  a  per- 
son to  pass  him  alive.  No  less  than  twenty-five  per- 
sons whom  he  met  in  the  highway,  after  getting  into 
Kansas,  had  been  shot,  and  yet  he  avoided  the  pub- 
lic roads  as  much  as  possible. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  August  2 1st  Quantrell 
and  his  band  came  in  sight  of  the  fated  town.  The 
sun  was  just  straggling  above  the  undulations  of  the 
prairie  and  the  people  of  the  place  were  beginning  to 
resume  the  duties  of  a  newly-born  day.  With  a  cry 
which  froze  the  blood  of  every  one  in  the  town  who 
heard  it,  Quantrell  and  his  two  hundred  followers 
descended  upon  the  place  with  pistol,  sword  and 
firebrand,    is 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  19 

The  prime  object  of  the  guerrillas  was  to  capture 
Gen.  Jim  Lane,  who  resided  at  Lawrence,  and  retali- 
ate upon  him  for  the  burning  and  sacking  of  Osceola, 
Mo.,  which  had  been  accomplished  by  men  under 
his  command.  But  Lane  fled  on  the  first  alarm,  and 
concealed  himself  in  an  adjacent  cornfield.  Foiled 
in  their  desire  to  capture  him,  the  enraged  guerrillas 
turned  their  vengeance  loose  upon  the  ill-fated 
town,  killing  every  man  who  came  within  range  of 
their  deadly  revolvers.  Quantrell's  orders  were  to 
kill  all  the  men,  but  to  spare  the  women  and  chil- 
dren. By  accident,  however, — possibly  by  design  of 
some  drunken  privates — several  women  and  children 
were  shot ;  and  this  fact  was  made  use  of  in  subse- 
quent reports  of  the  affair  to  greatly  exaggerate  its 
barbarous  details.  It  was  certainly  sufficiently  inex- 
cusable and  barbarous  without  exaggeration.  The 
torch  was  applied  to  the  light  frame  buildings  as  the 
killing  progressed,  and  the  beautiful  little  city  was 
soon  enveloped  in  a  sheet  of  flames.  Stores  and 
saloons  were  broken  into  and  robbed  of  their  con- 
tents, and  the  guerrilla  band  soon  became  a  howling 
mob  of  drunken  madmen.  The  dreadful  harvest  of 
death  and  destruction  lasted  nearly  all  day,  and 
when  the  guerrillas  took  up  their  line  of  retreat  tow- 
ard the  borders  of  Missouri,  the  city  of  Lawrence  had 
disappeared  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  In  this  affair 
Jesse  James  is  said  to  have  killed  thirty  men  and 
Frank  thirty-five.  They  seemed  to  take  a  sort  of 
devilish  pride  in  numbering  their  victims. 


20  THE  BORDER  BANDITS, 

Quantrell  and  his  men  hastily  retraced  their  steps, 
but  they  were  terribly  harassed  during  the  entire 
return  march  by  the  Kansas  militia  and  Federal 
troops  that  hurriedly  concentrated  and  went  in  pur- 
suit of  them.  This  force  has  been  reliably  estimated 
at  fully  seven  thousand,  and  nothing  but  hard  march- 
ing, determined  fighting,  and  an  endurance  that  has 
never  been  equalled  saved  the  guerrillas  from  total 
destruction.  At  Black  Jack,  about  fifteen  miles  from 
Lawrence,  a  stand  was  made  and  some  brisk  fighting 
occurred.  The  guerrillas  took  to  cover  in  a  large 
barn  which  stood  at  the  edge  of  an  orchard.  Several 
assaults  were  made  to  dislodge  them  but  in  vain. 
The  horses  of  the  guerrillas  were  suffering  severely, 
however,  and  realizing  that  without  horses  they 
would  be  unable  to  get  out  of  Kansas,  the  guerrillas 
made  a  desperate  charge  in  which  thirty-two  of  the 
militia  were  killed  and  a  panic  was  the  result.  But 
the  guerrillas  did  not  care  to  follow  up  the  victory, 
as  every  moment  was  precious.  The  militia  were 
swarming  and  closing  in  upon  them  rapidly,  and  it 
was  only  by  the  rarest  stroke  of  fortune  that  Quan- 
trell and  his  men  ever  escaped  from  Kansas;  this 
rare  fortune  was  due  entirely  to  the  unparalleled 
cowardice  of  three  hundred  well  armed  and  mounted 
men  who  had  been  organized  into  a  militia  force 
near  Spring  Hill,  Kansas.  These  men  exhibited 
remarkable  bravery  until  the  enemy  appeared  in 
sight,  when  they  immediately  retreated  and  never 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  21 

halted  until  they  were  ten  miles  from  the  place  where 
they  saw  Quantrell.  Had  they  engaged  the  enemy, 
which  was  one-third  less  in  number,  besides  badly 
fatigued,  they  could  either  have  beaten  Quantrell  or 
held  him  at  bay  until  enough  reinforcements  were 
received  to  have  annihilated  every  one  of  the  guer- 
rilla band. 

It  was  a  continual  fight,  however,  and  as  Quan- 
trell predicted,  many  of  his  followers  were  left  dead 
and  unburied  on  the  hot  prairies,  where  they  became 
the  prey  of  carrion  birds.  At  Shawnee,  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  Johnson  county,  the  last  stand  was  made, 
but  the  fight  lasted  only  a  few  minutes,  for  the  guer- 
rillas, appreciating  the  critical  position  they  occupied, 
with  nearly  five  thousand  militia  gradually  surround- 
ing them,  in  the  manner  of  early  settlers  who  join 
in  general  hunts  for  the  destruction  of  obnoxious 
wild  animals,  Quantrell  soon  ordered  a  charge  and 
retreat.  After  breaking  through  the  lines  the  guer- 
rillas disbanded  and  each  one  then  considered  alone 
his  own  safety;  this  rendered  a  general  pursuit  im- 
possible, and  with  a  total  loss  of  twenty-one  men  the 
bands  reached  the  coverts  of  Jackson  and  Clay  coun- 
ties, where  they  were  comparatively  safe. 


DESPERATE  FIGHTING  BY  SQUADS. 

After  spending  a  month  in  apparent  leisure,  dur- 
ing which  time  Jesse  and  Frank  James  were  frequent 


22  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

night  visitors  to  their  old  home,  Quantrell  again 
called  his  command  together  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
suming active  hostilities,  but  he  changed  his  tactics 
and  added  new  terrors  to  the  border  counties  of 
Missouri.  The  command  was  divided  into  squads  of 
twenty  and  thirty,  by  which  means  they  could  make 
bold  dashes  at  various  points  almost  simultaneously 
and  so  confuse  their  enemies  as  to  make  pursuit 
futile.  Indeed  this  peculiar  and  remorseless  warfare 
gave  rise  to  the  strange  superstition  that  Quantrell 
was  some  spirit  of  darkness  who  could  transport 
himself  and  troops  from  place  to  place  in  the  twinkle 
of  an  eye.  He  became  no  less  dreaded  by  the  Fed- 
eral troops  than  by  Union  citizens,  and  day  and  night 
non-combatants  as  well  as  armed  militiamen  fell  vic- 
tims to  the  terrible  guerrillas. 

In  the  early  part  of  October,  Jesse  James,  in 
charge  of  a  squad  of  twenty-five  men,  learning  of 
the  movements  of  a  company  of  Federal  cavalry  un- 
der command  of  Capt.  Ransom,  who  was  marching 
toward  Pleasant  Hill,  made  a  rapid  detour  and 
flanked  the  Federals  five  miles  north  of  Blue  Springs. 
Jesse  selected  a  place  near  the  road  which  was  well 
screened  by  a  dense  thicket;  here  he  stationed  his 
men,  and  when  the  Federals  came  riding  leisurely 
by,  unconscious  of  any  lurking  danger,  suddenly  a 
storm  of  bullets  poured  upon  them  from  the  thicket 
and  men  fell  like  leaves  in  an  autumn  gust.  The 
entire   company  was  immediately  thrown   into   the 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  23 

greatest  confusion.  The  youthful  commander  of  the 
guerrillas  made  the  most  of  his  advantage  and  or- 
dered a  dash  into  the  confused  and  stricken  ranks 
of  the  enemy,  which  he  shot  down  with  as  little  re- 
sistance as  is  oftered  by  dumb  animals.  The  havoc 
was  terrible,  for  out  of  nearly  one  hundred  Federals 
less  than  one-third  the  number  escaped,  while  the 
loss  of  the  guerrillas  was  only  one  killed  and  three 
slightly  wounded. 

On  the  following  day  another  squad  of  Quan- 
trell's  men  ambushed  a  body  of  militia  who  were  re- 
turning from  a  forage  in  Lafayette  county,  and 
mercilessly  annihilated  nearly  every  one  of  the  un- 
fortunate command.  One  week  later  Frank  and 
Jesse  James,  with  fifty  men,  suddenly  appeared  in 
Bourbon  county,  Kansas,  five  miles  south  of  Fort 
Scott,  and  swooped  down  upon  Capt.  Blunt  and  his 
company  of  seventy-five  mounted  infantry,  and  with 
a  yell  of  rage  and  triumph  swept  with  deathly  missiles 
the  astonished  Federals,  leaving  forty  of  them  to 
bleach  in  autumn  rains. 

The  next  attack  was  upon  Lieut.  Nash's  com- 
mand, three  miles  west  of  Warrensburg,  Missouri, 
which  was  surprised  by  the  guerrillas  and  cut  to 
pieces.  Following  close  upon  this  came  the  furious 
desolation  of  Camden.  This  little  town  was  gar- 
risoned by  a  small  company  of  Federals,  who,  upon 
the  day  in  question,  were  in  the  midst  of  bachanal- 
ian  revels  and  unable  to  offer  any  resistance.     This 


24  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

fight  was  a  slaughter,  in  which  the  drunken  soldiers 
were  shot  down  without  compunction,  and  the  riot 
of  murder  was  a  pastime  of  sport  for  the  guerrillas. 
After  completing  the  harvest  of  death  the  town 
was  pillaged  and  fired,  and  when  the  guerrillas  rode 
out  of  the  place  they  left  its  ruins  in  charge  of  the 
dead. 

Another  squad,  under  command  of  George  Todd, 
suddenly  encountered  the  Second  Colorado  cavalry, 
under  command  of  Capt.  Wagner,  and  a  desperate 
fight  ensued.  The  Colorado  troops  understood 
guerrilla  warfare,  and  Wagner  was  as  brave  a  man  as 
ever  mustered  a  company.  The  guerrillas  made  a 
furious  charge,  but  the  onslaught  was  met  with  such 
resistance  that  the  opposing  forces  mingled  together 
in  a  hand-to-hand  contest.  The  fight  was  terrible, 
the  rattle  of  revolvers  being  at  times  almost  drowned 
by  the  clash  of  sabers.  Jesse  James  fought  like  a 
hungry  tiger,  and  his  death-dealing  pistol  made  ter- 
rible inroads  among  his  foes.  Singling  out  the 
Captain,  who  was  fighting  with  wonderful  despera- 
tion, Jesse  rode  by  him  at  a  furious  pace,  and, 
discharging  his  pistol  with  remarkable  accuracy,  he 
sent  a  bullet  through  the  brave  Captain's  heart. 
This  act  sent  consternation  through  the  ranks  of  the 
Colorado  troops,  and  a  retreat,  in  confusion,  was 
soon  begun.  Those  that  were  wounded  received 
no  mercy  at  the  hands  of  the  guerrillas,  but  were 
shot  or  put  to  the  sword  and  then  left  unburied. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  25 

Every  attack  made  by  the  guerrillas  added  new 
terrors  to  the  neighborhood ;  there  was  a  concen- 
trating of  militia  at  every  available  point  and  a 
thousand  schemes  proposed  by  which  to  surprise 
and  bring  to  punishment  the  desperate  band;  but 
the  guerrillas  were  kept  thoroughly  posted  and 
continued  their  reckless  mode  of  warfare  with  vary- 
ing success. 

In  the  early  part  of  1864  Frank  James  was  sent 
out  by  Bill  Anderson  to  locate  and  number  the  Fed- 
eral force  at  Harrisonville.  The  duty  was  fraught 
with  much  peril,  but  it  was  danger  the  James  Boys 
courted  as  the  spice  of  existence.  He  rode  straight 
for  the  town,  until  within  sight  of  the  picket  lines. 
He  then  hitched  his  horse  in  the  closest  thicket 
he  could  find,  after  which  he  approached  with  great 
care,  and  at  night  succeeded  in  passing  the  pickets. 
Very  soon  after  reaching  the  outskirts  of  Harrison- 
ville he  met  a  negro  from  whom  he  obtained  what 
information  he  desired  and  then  crept  back  again 
through  the  lines  and  mounted  his  horse.  At  this 
juncture  he  was  spied  by  two  of  the  picket  guards, 
who  commanded  him  to  halt.  The  reply  came 
from  his  pistol,  and  though  the  night  was  without 
moonshine  he  sent  a  bullet  through  the  brain  of 
one,  and  another  shot  tore  through  the  body  of 
the  other  picket.  The  camp  was  speedily  in  arms 
but  Frank  rode  rapidly  out  of  harm  and  delivered 
the  information  he  had  gained  with  such  risk  to 
Anderson. 


26  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

On  the  second  day  thereafter  the  plan  of  attack 
on  Harrisonville  was  consummated  and  a  hard  fought 
battle  was  the  consequence,  but  the  guerrillas  were 
forced  to  retire,  and  they  turned  their  attention  to  a 
company  of  Federal  volunteers  who  were  encamped 
on  Grand  river  at  Flat  Rock  Ford.  These  they 
attacked  with  determined  fierceness,  but  they  were 
met  with  equal  force  and  were  again  compelled  to 
retreat.  In  this  fight  Jesse  James  was  badly  wound- 
ed, a  musket  ball  having  passed  through  his  breast, 
tearing  away  a  large  portion  of  his  left  lung  and 
knocking  him  from  his  horse.  Notwithstanding  the 
rain  of  bullets,  Arch  Clements  and  John  Jarrette  rode 
back,  and  gathering  up  their  wounded  comrade  they 
bore  him  to  the  house  of  Capt.  John  M.  Rudd,  where 
for  several  days  his  death  was  hourly  expected. 
Careful  nursing  and  the  best  surgical  skill,  however, 
saved  his  life,  and  in  one  month's  time  he  was  able  to 
resume  the  saddle,  and  in  six  weeks  he  again  went  on 
active  duty. 

On  the  16th  of  September,  1864,  Jesse  James  con- 
cluded to  pay  another  visit  to  his  mother,  but  the 
road  thence  was  beset  with  a  thousand  dangers  which 
very  few  men  could  be  induced  to  encounter.  Dur- 
ing the  ride  he  came  suddenly  upon  three  uniformed 
militia,  who  ordered  him  to  halt,  but  instead  of  obey- 
ing the  summons  he  whipped  out  two  pistols  and  in 
a  moment  the  three  men  were  struggling  in  the 
throes  of  death.     Jesse  met  with  no  other  adventure 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  27 

on  the  journey,  and  after  spending  two  days  with  his 
mother  returned  to  the  camp  of  the  guerrillas.  Imme- 
diately upon  his  return  he  was  informed  of  the  plans 
conceived  during  his  absence,  of  attacking  Fayette, 
Missouri.  On  the  20th  the  attack  was  made,  and 
charge  after  charge,  with  all  the  force  the  guerrillas 
could  command,  was  hurled  against  the  stockades 
which  protected  the  Federals,  but  every  onslaught 
was  firmly  met  and  left  a  trail  of  dead  and  wounded 
guerrillas.  Lee  McMurtry,  one  of  the  bravest  of 
Anderson's  forces,  fell  dreadfully  wounded  directly 
under  the  Federal  parapets.  Jesse  James  was  an  in- 
timate comrade  of  McMurty  and  he  determined  to 
rescue  his  friend.  What  a  nature  is  that  which  can 
rush  up  to  the  very  blazing  muzzles  of  deadly  rifles 
to  drag  away  a  wounded  friend  !  But  Jesse  James 
seemed  to  court  death  without  the  ability  to  win  it. 
He  braved  that  lurid  stream  of  fatal  fire  and  drew 
away  the  gasping  form  of  his  friend,  and  yet  escaped 
unscathed.  This  battle  also  resulted  adversely  to  the 
guerrillas,  and  they  were  driven  with  great  loss  from 
Fayette.  Leaving  this  place  they  rode  west  again 
and  went  into  camp  near  Wellington. 


DIREFUL  MASSACRE  AT   CENTRALIA. 

Quantrell  continued  to  direct  the  movements  of 
the  guerrilla  bands,  but  he  was  rarely  engaged  in  any 


28  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

of  the  battles ;  the  active  service  he  delegated  to 
the  most  strategical  and  unmerciful  members  of  his 
command.  Bill  Anderson,  a  human  tiger  in  dispo- 
sition, was  placed  in  charge  of  the  full  force  when  it 
was  decided  to  move  upon  Centralia,  a  small  town  in 
Boone  county,  on  the  Wabash,  St.  Louis  &  Pacific 
Railway.  On  the  27th  of  September,  one  week  af- 
ter the  attack  on  Fayette,  the  guerrillas,  numbering 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  headed  by  Anderson 
and  that  most  ominous  of  banners,  the  black  flag, 
with  skull  and  cross-bones,  marched  upon  Centralia, 
which  they  took  possession  of  without  resistance. 
After  pillaging  the  place  the  guerrillas  took  up  their 
station  at  the  depot  and  awaited  the  coming  of  the 
train.  They  had  not  long  to  wait,  for  soon  the  shrill 
whistle  of  the  engine,  as  it  came  thundering  through 
a  cut,  drawing  five  passenger  coaches  loaded  with 
soldiers  and  citizen  travelers,  announced  the  coming 
of  the  prize.  The  moment  the  train  stopped  the 
dreadful  black  flag  was  flung  out  and  with  the  ex- 
change of  a  few  shots  the  messengers  of  death 
boarded  the  cars.  Everyone  on  the  train  was  or- 
dered out  and  made  to  form  in  line,  after  which  the 
thirty-two  soldiers  were  separated  from  the  other  pas- 
sengers and  all  disarmed.  Now  the  breathless  sus- 
pense, the  terrible  forebodings  and  the  anxiety  as  to 
the  fate  that  would  be  meted  out  to  them  1  Every 
soldier  was  shot  as  unmercifully  as  if  they  had  been 
obnoxious  beasts  or  poisonous  snakes.     The  passen- 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  29 

gers  were  relieved  of  whatever  valuables  they  pos- 
sessed, after  which  they  were  permitted  to  proceed 
on  their  journey. 

•In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  and  before  the 
guerrillas  had  departed  from  Centralia,  a  body  of 
Iowa  volunteers,  one  hundred  strong,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Major  J.  H.  Johnson,  rode  into  the  town  and 
in  the  space  of  a  few  hours  the  two  forces  met 
and  engaged  in  a  terrible  conflict.  Again  Jesse 
James,  who  was  the  best  pistol  shot  in  the  guerrilla 
service,  made  a  furious  dash  at  Major  Johnson  and 
planted  a  pistol  ball  almost  in  the  center  of  the  brave 
Major's  forehead.  The  guerrillas  now  rushed  upon 
the  terrorized  volunteers  with  such  resistless  impetu- 
osity that  they  broke  in  confusion.  The  fight  be- 
came a  massacre,  and  but  very  few  of  the  brave  vol- 
unteers escaped  to  convey  to  anxious  friends  the 
dreadful  fate  that  had  befallen  their  comrades.  One 
of  the  militiamen  had  a  very  remarkable  escape. 
Being  badly  wounded,  in  the  early  part  of  the  fight, 
he  remained  unconscious,  with  the  blood  streaming 
from  a  saber  gash  in  his  head,  until  the  foe  had  de- 
parted. When  the  fight  was  over  the  guerrillas  went 
among  the  wounded  and  shot  them  with  their  revolv- 
ers, determined  that  not  a  soldier  should  escape.  This 
single  exception  to  the  consummation  of  guerrilla 
vengeance  was  supposed  to  be  dead,  and  he  therefore 
escaped  the  crowning  feature  of  that  day's  massacre. 
When  consciousness  was  regained  he  found  himself 


30  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

alone,  among  the  dead  bodies  of  his  comrades,  and 
his  shouts  for  help  brought  to  his  assistance  the  ser- 
vices of  a  kind  old  negro  woman  who  took  him  to 
her  house  and  obtained  surgical  aid,  so  that  in  two 
week's  time  he  was  able  to  return  home. 

The  result  of  the  fight  at  Centralia  was  not  such 
as  brought  great  encouragement  to  the  guerrillas ; 
the  victory  they  gained  was  at  the  cost  of  nearly  fifty 
of  their  number,  whom  it  would  be  impossible  to  re- 
place, because  men  of  their  bold,  reckless  and  des- 
perate character  are  rarely  to  be  found.  It  was  there- 
fore determined  to  again  divide  up  into  squads  and 
renew  the  warfare  which  they  had  waged  so  success- 
fully in  the  previous  year.  But  the  guerrillas  never 
fought  again  as  they  had  at  Fayette  and  Harrison- 
ville ;  their  courage  to  meet  an  armed  force  seemed 
to  have  vanished. 


FORTUNE  TURNING  AGAINST   THE 
GUERRILLAS. 

The  numerous  and  desperate  deeds  of  the  guer- 
illas received  the  earnest  condemnation  of  the  Con- 
federate forces  and  for  a  time  it  was  seriously  con- 
sidered, by  many  of  the  most  distinguished  Confed- 
erate officers,  advisable  to  unite  in  the  effort  to  rid 
Missouri  of  this  terrible  scourge.  But  their  career 
was  rapidly  culminating.     In  attempting  to  cross  the 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  31 

Missouri  river  in  Howard  county,  a  detachment  of 
the  guerrillas,  headed  by  Bill  Anderson,  was  attacked 
by  a  force  of  Federals  under  Montgomery,  and  in 
the  fight  which  ensued  Anderson  and  five  of  his  men 
were  killed,  while  the  others  escaped  to  the  hills. 
They  were  again  surprised  while  in  camp  on  the 
Blackwater  and  several  more  were  killed,  and  Jesse 
James  was  badly  wounded  in  the  leg,  besides  having 
his  horse  killed  under  him.  In  another  fight  which 
followed  soon  after,  on  Sugar  creek,  George  Todd, 
one  of  the  most  daring  and  shrewd  of  Quantrell's 
old  comrades,  was  shot  to  the  death,  and  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  1864,  in  order  to  save  themselves  from 
capture  or  annihilation,  the  guerrillas  concluded  to 
disband  finally.  Jesse  James  joined  his  fortunes 
with  George  Shepherd  and  went  to  Texas,  while 
Frank  James  followed  Quantrell  to  Kentucky. 


THE    WHIRLWIND    OF    DESTRUCTION 
CHANGES. 

In  January,  1865,  Quantrell  collected  together 
nearly  fifty  of  his  old  followers,  among  whom  was 
Frank  James,  and  started  for  the  hills  of  Kentucky, 
where  he  expected  to  continue  his  warfare.  Their 
route  lay  south-east,  and  before  they  got  out  of  Mis- 
souri they  came  very  near  falling  into  the  hands  of 
Curtis,  who  pursued  them  hard  almost  to  the  Arkan- 


32  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

sas  line,  where  the  trail  was  lost.  The  guerrilla* 
crossed  the  Mississippi  river  at  Gaine's  Landing, nearly 
twenty  miles  above  Memphis,  and  made  their  way 
through  Tennessee,  entering  Kentucky  from  the 
south.  At  Hartford,  in  Ohio  county,  the  command 
met  a  squad  of  thirty  militia  under  command  of  Capt. 
Barnett,  whom  they  readily  deceived  into  the  belief 
that  they  were  Federal  troops  searching  for  guerril- 
las, and  that  Quantrell  was  a  Federal  captain.  In- 
deed the  deception  was  played  so  successfully  that 
Barnett  was  induced  to  accompany  them  upon  an 
expedition.  Quantrell  managed  to  communicate 
with  each  of  his  men,  whom  he  instructed  to  ride 
beside  the  Federals,  and  when  he  should  draw  his 
handkerchief  and  throw  it  over  his  shoulder  it  was 
the  signal  for  the  slaughter.  At  about  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  Frank  James  rode  up  beside  Capt. 
Barnett,  while  Quantrell  moved  forward,  and  as  his 
horse  stepped  into  a  shallow  branch  where  all  his  men 
could  see  him,  he  drew  the  fatal  handkerchief,  and 
without  looking  back  he  waved  it  and  then  threw  it 
over  his  shoulder.  Their  was  a  rattle  of  pistol  shots 
and  Capt.  Barnett  and  his  men  fell  dead  under  their 
horses. 

Near  Hopkinsville  the  guerrillas  met  twelve  Fed- 
eral cavalrymen  who  sought  the  shelter  of  a  barn 
and  gave  battle.  The  fight  lasted  for  more  than  an 
hour,  and  until  the  barn  was  fired,  when  the  twelve 
brave  fellows  were  forced  from  their  defense  and  were 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  33 

shot  as  they  rushed  from  the  flames.  Their  horses 
then  became  the  property  of  the  guerrillas.  Frank 
James  stopped  one  day  with  an  uncle,  who  lives 
about  fifty  miles  from  Hopkinsville,  and  thus  per- 
mitted the  command  to  get  so  far  ahead  of  him  that 
he  did  not  engage  in  any  more  skirmishes  in  Ken- 
tucky;  for,  two  days  afterward,  Quantrell  was  driven 
into  a  small  village  called  Smiley,  where,  finding  es- 
cape impossible,  he  made  his  last  stand.  It  was  forty 
against  nearly  three  hundred,  and  Quantrell  knew 
that  it  was  a  fight  to  the  death.  Bleeding  almost  at 
every  pore,  the  black-bannered  bandit  fought  like  the 
gladiators,  until,  blinded  by  his  own  blood,  and  with 
a  score  of  gaping  wounds,  he  fell  mortally  wounded, 
with  an  empty  pistol  in  one  hand  and  a  bloody  sword 
in  the  other.  It  was  thus  that  the  entire  force  of 
Quantrell's  guerrillas  died,  excepting  Frank  James, 
whose  life  was  spared  for  darker  deeds. 


JESSE  JAMES'  CAREER  IN  TEXAS. 

As  previously  stated,  Jesse  James  left  Missouri  in 
company  with  George  Shepherd  and  forty  or  fifty 
guerrillas,  for  Texas,  where  they  spent  the  winter  of 
1864-5  without  special  activity,  and  in  the  spring  it 
was  decided  to  return  to  Missouri,  although  such  a 
decision  was  pregnant  with  a  renewal  of  all  the 
dangers  from  which  they  had  just  escaped.  Upon 
19 


34  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

reaching  Benton  county  Jesse  James,  Arch  Clements 
and  another  comrade  proceeded  to  the  farm-house  of 
James  Harkness,  who  was  known  as  an  uncompro- 
mising Union  man.  They  decoyed  him  a  short  dis- 
tance from  his  house  by  requesting  him  to  direct  them 
to  a  spring  which  they  knew  was  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. When  out  of  sight  of  the  house  Jesse  James 
and  his  comrade  caught  Harkness  by  the  arms  and 
held  him  firmly,  while  Arch  Clements  drew  a  large 
bowie-knife  with  which  he  cut  the  throat  of  the  de- 
fenceless farmer,  almost  severing  his  head.  Fresh 
blood  being  upon  their  hands,  they  rode  into  John- 
son county  to  the  house  of  Allen  Duncan,  another 
Union  man,  and  finding  him  chopping  wood  in  his 
yard,  Jesse  James  first  accosted  him  and  then  sent  a 
bullet  into  his  brain. 

The  guerrilla  band,  now  numbering  scarce  a  score, 
before  getting  out  of  Johnson  county  were  surprised 
by  a  company  of  Federal  volunteers  and  almost  an- 
nihilated. Jesse  James  had  his  horse  shot  under  him 
and  a  musket  ball  went  crashing  through  his  lungs. 
Supposing  him  dead,  the  Federals  gave  pursuit  to 
the  fleeing  guerrillas  and  chased  the  remaining  few 
for  nearly  fifty  miles.  The  wounded  guerrilla  lay  for 
two  days  where  he  fell,  in  terrible  agony,  and  would 
have  died  except  for  the  kindly  ministrations  of  a 
farmer  who  chanced  to  find  him.  The  care  he  re- 
ceived, after  weeks  of  suffering,  enabled  him  to  again 
resume  the  saddle,  and  he  went  to  Nebraska,   where 


JESSJ5  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  35 

his  mother  was  temporarily  living  and  where  he  re- 
mained until  the  return  of  Frank  James  from  Ken- 
tucky late  in  the  following  summer. 

Before  Frank  left  Brandensburg,  however,  he  met 
with  an  adventure  which  nearly  cost  his  life.  The 
vicinity  of  Brandensburg  was  infested  with  horse- 
thieves,  and  suspicion  was  directed  against  Frank  as 
one  of  the  guilty  band.  It  was  determined  to  arrest 
him,  and  for  this  purpose  a  posse  of  six  men  went  to 
the  house  where  he  was  stopping,  and  after  charging 
him  with  horse-stealing,  demanded  his  arms.  The 
response  was  most  unexpected,  for,  with  an  oath,  he 
drew  his  pistol  and  shot  three  of  the  party,  and  in  re- 
turn was  badly  wounded  in  the  thigh.  The  other 
three  fled,  but  a  large  crowd  soon  collected,  to  intimi- 
date which  Frank  backed  up  against  the  house  and 
threatened  to  shoot  any  one  who  made  the  least  mo- 
tion to  harm  him.  A  horse  was  standing  hitched 
conveniently  near,  and,  compelling  the  crowd  to  fall 
back,  he  drew  his  suffering  body  up  into  the  saddle 
and  made  his  escape.  The  wound  proved  a  very  se- 
rious one  and  kept  him  confined  to  his  bed  at  the 
house  Of  a  friend,  where  he  found  refuge,  nearly 
seventy-five  miles  from  Brandensburg,  for  several 
months. 


36  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 


ROBBERY  AND  MURDER. 

It  is  a  trite  old  saying  that  "  one  crime  begets  an- 
other," and  in  the  life  of  Jesse  and  Frank  James  it  is 
well  illustrated.  When  the  war  closed  and  the  occu- 
pation of  the  guerrilla,  under  color  of  authority,  was 
gone,  the  James  Boys  were  loth  to  change  the  excit- 
ing and  dangerous  vocation  to  which  they  had  be- 
come inured  by  nearly  four  years  of  almost  ceaseless 
activity.  Other  guerrillas,  who  had  been  their  com- 
rades in  so  many  desperate  struggles,  which  had 
made  their  very  names  a  terror,  had  surrendered 
themselves  when  the  bond  of  national  union  had 
been  repaired,  and  returned  to  peaceful  pursuits;  but 
Jesse  and  Frank  James  affected  to  despise  the  ordi- 
nary walks  of  life  and  refused  to  tread  other  than 
paths  which  bristled  with  danger  and  anxiety.  Both 
were  sorely  wounded,  and  a  period  of  recuperation 
was  necessary ;  and  this  respite  from  the  turmoils  of 
bandit  life  was  employed  in  the  conception  of  bold 
schemes  by  which  to  enlarge  the  notoriety  of  their 
names  and  to  accumulate  wealth. 

When  they  had  somewhat  recovered  from  their 
wounds,  Mrs.  Samuels  returned  to  her  old  home,  in 
Clay  county,  while  the  boys  paid  her  occasional  vis- 
its as  opportunity  offered,  but  generally  keeping 
themselves  well  hidden  in  the  fastnesses  of  Jackson 
county.  In  the  latter  part  of  1866,  Jesse  James  was 
attacked  with  a  severe  type  of  malarial  fever,  which 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  37 

the  exposure  he  had  to  endure  so  intensified  that  he 
determined  to  secretly  visit  his  mother  and  place 
himself  under  her  immediate  care.  The  record 
which  he  had  made  during  the  war  rendered  him 
amenable  to  the  vengeance  of  a  large  number  of  the 
residents  of  Clay  and  adjoining  counties,  who  had  suf- 
fered by  his  desperate  acts.  Consequently,  Jesse 
knew  that  eternal  vigilance  was  necessary,  but  hoped 
to  so  conceal  his  presence  at  the  Samuels'  homestead 
that  no  one  would  suspect  his  location  or  condition. 
But  in  this  he  was  deceived,  for  only  a  few  days  had 
elapsed  after  his  arrival  at  home  when,  by  some 
means  unknown  to  the  writer,  it  was  discovered  that 
Jesse  had  taken  up  at  least  a  temporary  residence 
with  his  mother. 

It  was  a  bitter  cold  night  in  the  month  of  Febru- 
ary, 1867,  that  a  band  of  six  persons,  each  of  whom 
had  a  special  grievance  to  revenge,  knocked  at  the 
door  of  Dr.  Samuels'  residence  and  demanded  im- 
mediate admittance.  Jesse  was  in  a  bed  up  stairs, 
but  he  was  the  first  to  hear  and  understand  the  per- 
emptory challenge,  as  it  were,  of  the  men  outside. 
Hastily  drawing  on  his  pantaloons  and  boots,  he 
grabbed  his  two  heavy  pistols  and  looked  out  of  the 
window  where,  by  the  light  refracted  by  the  snow, 
he  saw  six  horses  and  only  a  single  man.  He  knew 
then  that  the  house  was  surrounded  and  all  chance 
of  escape  lay  in  a  bloody  fight.  He  silently  de- 
scended to  the  first  floor,  where  Dr.  Samuels  was  rat- 


38  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

tling  the  door  and  explaining  to  those  awaiting  ad- 
mittance that  the  lock  was  out  of  repair  so  that  the 
key  would  not  work  readily.  This  was  a  ruse,  how- 
ever, to  secure  time  for  Jesse  who,  Dr.  Samuels 
hoped,  would  be  able  to  escape  through  a  back  win- 
dow. Locating  the  voice  of  one  of  the  men  who 
was  threatening  to  break  in  the  door,  Jesse  fired 
through  the  panel  and  a  stifled  groan  told  him  that 
his  aim  had  been  perfect.  On  hearing  the  shot,  the 
other  five  rushed  to  the  front  of  the  house.  Jesse 
threw  the  door  partly  open  and  the  light  from  the 
snow  made  the  men  outside  easy  targets  for  his  un- 
erring aim,  while  he  was  so  hidden  by  the  door  and 
darkness  within  that  the  attacking  party  could  not 
fire  with  the  least  accuracy.  In  half  the  time  it  has 
taken  the  reader  to  even  scan  this  report  three  of 
the  six  men  were  lying  dead  in  the  snow  and  two  oth- 
ers were  desperately  wounded,  while  the  other  fled 
in  mortal  terror. 

Suffering,  as  he  was,  from  a  very  high  fever,  Jesse 
lost  no  time  in  mounting  his  horse,  and  with  a  hur- 
ried good-bye,  he  again  rode  into  the  wilderness, 
leaving  his  mother  and  her  family  with  the  dead  and 
wounded.  It  was  a  ghastly  scene,  there  upon  the 
white-shrouded  ground,  one  man  dead  on  the  door- 
step, two  others  stiff  and  frozen  in  their  own  blood 
which  crimsoned  the  yard,  while  the  groans  from  the 
wounded  made  the  place  more  hideous.  Dr.  Sam- 
uels notified  his  nearest  neighbor  as  soon  as  possible 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  39 

and  with  the  assistance  he  secured,  the  two  wounded 
men  were  taken  into  the  house  and  cared  for,  while 
a  lonely  vigil  over  the  dead  was  kept  until  morning. 
A  large  crowd  collected  at  the  homestead  on  the 
following  day  and  removed  the  bodies,  while  more 
than  fifty  well  mounted  citizens  went  in  pursuit  of 
the  youthful  desperado,  but  after  a  week's  fruitless 
search  they  returned  to  their  homes  and  quiet  again 
brooded  over  the  distressed  neighborhood. 


PLUNDERING  A  KENTUCKY   BANK. 

The  bloody  record  of  the  James  Boys  had  been 
almost  forgotton,  for  they  had  not  been  seen  in  Clay 
county  for  many  months  and  no  specially  reckless 
deeds  had  been  committed  to  bring  back  a  remem- 
brance of  them  ;  when,  suddenly,  the  town  of  Rus- 
sellville,  Kentucky,  was  thrown  into  a  greater  excite- 
ment than  it  had  ever  before  experienced.  The 
James  Boys  had  paid  the  place  a  visit  and  left  a  sou- 
venir of  their  desperate  valor.  On  the  soth  of 
March,  1868,  Jesse  James,  accompanied  by  four 
comrades,  George  Shepherd,  Oil.  Shepherd,  Cole 
Younger  and  Jim  White,  dashed  into  the  town  like 
a  hurricane',  yelling  and  firing  their  pistols  until  every 
one  was  frightened  from  the  streets.  They  then  rode 
to  the  bank  where  four  of  them  dismounted  and  en- 
tered,   with    drawn    revolvers,    so    intimidating    the 


40  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

cashier  that  he  opened  the  safe  to  Jesse  James, 
while  Cole  Younger  gathered  the  money  that  was 
lying  upon  the  counter.  The  amount  appropriated 
by  the  bandits  was  #14,000,  which  they  threw  into  a 
sack  and  then  leisurely  departed.  Everything  con- 
nected with  the  robbery  showed  thorough  system 
and  a  management  which  could  be  attributed  to 
none  other  than  the  fierce  Missouri  free-booters. 

When  the  excitement  and  surprise  had  somewhat 
subsided  the  sheriff  summoned  twenty  deputies  and 
started  in  pursuit.  The  chase  continued  through 
Kentucky  and  western  Tennessee.  Telegrams  were 
sent  in  every  direction  with  the  hope  of  intercepting 
the  robbers,  who,  finding  themselves  close  pressed, 
scattered,  as  was  their  custom,  and  all,  save  George 
Shepherd,  eluded  pursuit  and  gained  the  marshes 
and  dense  coverts  of  Arkansas,  where  it  was  impos- 
sible to  trail  them.  Shepherd  was  captured  two 
weeks  atter  the  robbery  in  a  small  drug  store  in  Ten- 
nessee and  taken  back  to  Logan  county,  where  he 
was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  for 
a  term  of  three  years. 

Oliver  Shepherd,  a  brother  of  George,  who  was 
also  connected  with  the  bank  robbery,  was  after- 
ward found  in  Jackson  county,  Missouri,  and  a  re- 
quisition being  first  obtained,  a  dozen  men  attempted 
his  arrest.  But  OIL,  as  he  was  called,  was  made  of 
that  sterner  composition  which  would  not  brook  a 
curtailment  of  his  liberty,  and  he  threw  defiance  at 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  41 

the  officers  of  the  law.  Then  began  a  battle  of  ex- 
termination. The  officers  had  armed  themselves  with 
carbines  because  they  knew  that  to  come  in  range  of 
the  old  guerrilla's  pistols  would  be  death  to  many  of 
them.  The  hero  of  a  hundred  desperate  conflicts 
felt  that  his  time  had  come,  so,  bracing  himself 
against  a  large  tree,  he  stood  and  received  the  fire  of 
his  slayers  at  a  range  of  nearly  two  hundred  and  fif- 
ty yards.  His  pistols  were  useless,  although  he  fired 
every  shot,  fourteen  rounds,  at  the  officers,  who,  from 
behind  trees,  shot  seven  terrible  slugs  into  his  body 
before  he  fell ;  even  then,  like  Spartacus,  he  struck 
out  towards  his  foes  in  the  last  throes  of  death. 


BANK  ROBBERY  AND  MURDER. 

After  the  affair  at  Russellville  the  James  Boys  ap- 
peared twice  in  their  old  haunts  in  Missouri,  but 
spent  nearly  a  year  in  Texas  and  Mexico,  in  remote 
districts,  where  they  were  free  from  the  interference 
of  officers  anxious  for  their  capture.  It  was  not  un- 
til the  latter  part  of  1869  that  they  resumed  criminal 
operations,  their  plans  being  laid  to  rob  the  bank  at 
Gallatin,  Missouri.  In  this  scheme  they  were  assisted 
by  the  three  Younger  brothers,  whose  career  for 
consummate  daring  and  recklessness  is  fully  equal  to 
that  of  the  James  Boys. 

It  was  on  the  7th  of  December  that  a  body  of 


42  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

seven  thoroughly  armed  men,  superbly  mounted, 
galloped  into  Gallatin  and  commenced  firing  their 
pistols  indiscriminately,  shouting  most  terrible  oaths 
and  fearful  threats.  After  alarming  the  residents  of 
the  place  and  preventing  resistance,  Jesse  James  and 
Cole  Younger  dashed  into  the  bank,  and  at  the  muz- 
zles of  drawn  revolvers,  they  compelled  the  cashier, 
Capt.  John  W.  Sheets,  to  deliver  the  keys  of  the 
money  department  of  the  safe,  the  main  door  being 
open.  After  rifling  the  bank  of  #700,  Jesse  and 
Cole  whispered  a  few  words  together,  put  the  money 
in  a  bag,  and  then  one  of  them,  but  which  of  the 
two  it  is  not  known,  deliberately  shot  Capt.  Sheets 
dead.  The  reason  given  for  the  commission  of  this 
crime  was  that  Capt.  Sheets  had,  during  the  war,  led 
a  party  of  militia  against  the  guerrillas,  in  which 
conflict  Bill  Anderson  was  killed,  and  that  the  kill- 
ing of  Sheets  was  in  revenge  for  Anderson's  tragic 
death. 

Capt.  Sheets  was  a  very  popular  man  in  Gallatin 
and  the  surrounding  neighborhood,  and  when  the 
news  of  the  terrible  tragedy  and  robbery  spread, 
nearly  the  entire  county  arose  in  arms  and  de- 
manded the  blood  of  the  assassins.  Several  bands 
were  organized  and  started  in  pursuit,  each  taking  a 
different  route,  with  the  hope  that  one  of  them  might 
be  able  to  apprehend  the  bandits  before  they  could 
get  out  of  the  county.  One  of  these  bands,  num- 
bering twelve  citizens,  overtook  the  robbers  on  the 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  43 

edge  of  Clay  county  and  a  running  fight  ensued,  in 
which  one  of  the  citizens  was  wounded  slightly  and 
the  horse  of  another  killed.  These  casualties  ended 
the  pursuit  and  the  bandits  reached  Jackson  county 
in  safety,  where  they  disappeared. 


THE  MYSTERIOUS  HIDING  PLACE  IN 
JACKSON  COUNTY. 

In  perusing  books  and  newspaper  articles  record- 
ing the  adventures  of  the  James  and  Younger  boys, 
the  reader  must  have  been  impressed  with  the  some- 
what singular  assertion  that  pursuit  of  the  bandits 
generally  ended  by  their  sudden  disappearance  in 
Jackson  county,  Missouri.  I  will  confess  that  I  have 
often  wondered  how  it  was  possible  for  a  body  of 
men  to  mysteriously  disappear  in  a  certain  locality 
and  thereby  end  a  close  pursuit.  A  gentleman  who 
has  been  intimate  with  the  James  Boys  for  a  period 
of  nearly  twenty  years  and  with  whom  I  am  inti- 
mately acquainted,  volunteered  to  me  the  long- 
wished-for  information,  which  he  gave  as  follows, 
omitting  only  the  exact  location.  I  will  use  his  own 
words  as  nearly  as  possible : 

"You  know,"  said  he,  "that  Jackson  county  is  one 
of  the  most  rugged  and  broken  districts  in  Missouri ; 
it  not  only  abounds  with  bluffs,  but  also,  in  at  least 
a  few  places,  with  almost  impenetrable  thickets,  fit 


ROMAN  11C   SCENERV  NEAR  THE  MYSTERIOUS   CAVE. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  45 

only  for  the  abode  of  catamounts  and  foxes.  One 
day  I  was  riding  through  Jackson  county,  I  will  not 
tell  you  where,  when  suddenly  I  was  confronted  by 
Frank  James.     He  greeted  me  cordially  and  then 

said :     ■ ,  I  have  every  confidence  in  you  and  I 

know  you  would  not  betray  us  to  save  your  right 
arm;  therefore  I  invite  you  to  our  retreat;  come 
with  me  ! '  I  followed  him  in  a  bridle  path  for  nearly 
a  mile,  when  we  came  to  a  precipitous  bluff,  the  base 
of  which  was  completely  hidden  by  a  thick  growth. 
There  was  an  entrance  between  the  growth  and  bluff, 
where  any  one  would  least  suspect  it,  because,  at  the 
mouth  are  two  bold  rocks,  which  are  apparently  at- 
tached to  the  bluff  itself;  this  delusion  is  accom- 
plished by  keeping  the  interstices  filled  with  fresh 
brush  so  laid  as  to  appear  like  a  natural  coppice. 
This  passage-way  leads  about  fifty  feet,  to  a  large 
fissure  in  the  side  of  the  bluff,  resembling  a  vestibule ; 
from  this  we  stepped  into  a  large  cave,  quite  roomy 
enough  to  contain  comfortably  more  than  a  score  of 
men  and  horses.  I  was  astonished  at  the  complete- 
ness of  the  arrangement  of  things  in  the  cave. 
There  was  a  cooking  stove,  the  pipe  of  which  ex- 
tended up  and  was  lost  in  the  top  of  the  cave.  Frank 
James  told  me  that  the  smoke  from  the  stove  passed 
into  a  fissure  of  rock  which  evidently  opened  into 
another  cave,  as  no  smoke  could  ever  be  seen  issuing 
from  the  bluff.  He  then  took  me  over  to  another 
part  of  the  cavern,  where  there  was  a  clear  spring  of 


46  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

beautiful  water,  and  over  this  was  another  fissure  from 
which  there  was  a  cool  draft  of  air  which  thoroughly- 
ventilated  the  entire  cave.  I  could  see  that  many  of 
the  conveniences  of  the  place  were  due  to  no  little 
labor.  A  part  of  the  cave  was  ceiled  nicely  with 
grooved  pine  lumber  so  as  to  prevent  dampness,  and 
in  this  division  was  a  large  heating  stove,  and  about 
a  dozen  beds,  all  supplied  with  neat  bedding.  In  the 
rear  of  the  cave,  which  was,  perhaps,  one  hundred 
feet  deep  by  sixty  broad,  were  twenty-one  stalls  for 
the  horses,  and  over  the  stalls  was  a  large  feed  bin 
filled  with  oats  and  corn,  but  no  hay,  as  the  latter 
was  too  bulky  to  convey  readily  into  the  cave.  But 
what  surprised  me  most  was  the  means  of  defence. 
There  was  an  arsenal  of  fire-arms  and  a  magazine  for 
ammunition,  while  the  approach  to  the  cave  was  com. 
manded  by  a  fierce,  breech-loading  ten-pound  can- 
non, which  was  kept  constantly  loaded  with  buck- 
shot, and  looked  out  towards  the  entrance  in  such  a 
way  that  one  man  could  defend  the  place  against  a 
hundred,  for  a  discharge  of  that  cannon  would  sweep 
everything  out  of  the  passage.  The  place  is  abso- 
lutely impregnable,  even  if  it  could  be  found,  which 
it  would  be  exceedingly  difficult  to  do. 

"  I  would  not  have  told  you  this  except  for  the  fact 
that  the  cave  is  now  abandoned  and  may  never  be 
occupied  again,  but  yet  there  is  a  certain  obligation, 
from  which  I  do  not  feel  myself  wholly  relieved,  that 
causes  me  to  keep  the  location  of  the  cave  a  secret. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  47 

Frank  James  is  in  the  East,  and  Jesse  James  —  well, 
I  don't  know  what  has  become  of  him,  but  I  hope  he 
is  living  in  safety  and  happiness,  as  I  believe  he  is, 
because,  with  all  their  crimes,  the  James  Boys  have 
been  good  friends  to  me." 


A  TERRIBLE  FIGHT  IN  MEXICO. 

After  robbing  the  Gallatin  bank,  the  James  Boys 
left  Missouri  and  went  to  Texas,  where  they  remained 
a  short  time  and  then  crossed  the  border  into  Mex- 
ico. It  has  been  suspected  that  they  drove  a  herd 
of  cattle  across  the  border  with  them,  but  of  this 
there  is  no  ready  proof,  and  the  crimes  of  some 
greasers  may  have  been  attributed  to  the  bandits. 
In  the  month  of  May,  i860,  Frank  and  Jesse  James 
rode  into  Matamoras  and,  as  there  was  a  fandango 
advertised  to  take  place  at  a  public  house  on  the 
night  of  their  arrival,  they  decided  to  attend.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  the  night  shadows  fell,  they  paid 
the  price  of  admission  and  entered  the  hall,  which 
was  rapidly  filling  up  with  swarthy  senoritas  and 
hidalgoes.  From  the  belts  of  the  latter  protruded 
the  glittering  handles  of  bright,  keen  stilettos,  in 
preparation  for  the  affray  which  is  always  anticipated. 

The  dance  began  about  eight  o'clock,  with  much 
spirit,  and  the  whirl  of  the  graceful  girls  soon  excited 
a  desire  on  the  part  of  Frank  and  Jesse  to  partici- 


48  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

pate,  although  they  were  not  familiar  with  the  move- 
ments and  figures  of  the  Spanish  dances.  Never- 
theless they  essayed  an  attempt,  which  only  served 
to  excite  the  ridicule  of  the  Mexicans  who,  by  ges- 
ture and  speech,  went  so  far  in  their  sport  and  mimic- 
ry of  the  outlaws  that  at  length  Frank  James  knocked 
down  one  of  the  boldest.  This  act  came  near  prov- 
ing disastrous  to  both  the  boys,  for  the  moment  the 
Mexican  fell  to  the  floor  another  powerfully  built 
hidalgo  struck  Frank  a  blow  on  the  cheek  which 
sent  him  spinning  into  the  laps  of  two  girls  who  were 
seated  on  a  bench  awaiting  partners.  For  a  moment 
he  was  so  stunned  as  to  scarcely  know  what  to  do, 
but  Jesse  saw  where  his  aid  was  most  needed  and  the 
next  instant  the  powerful  Mexican  fell  with  a  bullet 
in  his  brain.  A  general  fight  then  ensued  in  which 
Jesse  and  Frank  rushed  for  the  door,  but  their  passage 
was  impeded ;  so  nothing  remained  for  the  boys  ex- 
cept to  clear  a  way  by  shooting  those  who  stood  be- 
fore them.  Frank  received  a  thrust  in  the  shoulder 
from  a  stiletto  and  Jesse's  right  fore-arm  was  punc- 
tured with  a  similar  instrument,  but  the  boys  fired 
rapidly  and  with  such  effect  that  four  Mexicans  lay 
dead  and  six  others  were  dreadfully  wounded,  some 
mortally.  Jesse  was  the  first  to  break  through  the 
doorway,  and  as  he  did  so  he  turned  at  the  very  in- 
stant a  dagger,  in  the  hands  of  a  strong  Mexican,  was 
directed  at  Frank's  heart,  but  ere  the  hand  fell  to  its 
purpose  a  bullet  from  Jesse's  pistol  entered  the  Mex- 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  49 

ican's  eye  and  he  dropped  dead  at  Frank's  feet,  strik- 
ing the  dagger  deep  into  the  floor  as  he  fell. 
This  fortunate  shot  enabled  Frank  to  escape  from  the 
building  and  as  the  Mexicans  had  no  arms  except  stilet- 
tos, they  were  powerless  to  continue  the  fight,  but 
many  of  them  rushed  to  their  homes  to  procure  fire- 
arms and  horses,  and  the  place  was  swarming  so  rap- 
idly with  blood-craving  hidalgoes  and  greasers  that 
the  only  avenue  of  escape  lay  in  the  river.  They  ac- 
cordingly rushed  toward  their  horses  which  were 
hitched  in  the  woods  near  by,  but  just  before  reaching 
them  three  powerful  Mexicans  suddenly  sprang  upon 
Frank  James,  who  was  a  little  in  the  rear,  and  at- 
tempted to  bind  him  with  a  stout  cord  which  they 
threw  over  his  shoulders.  Fortunately,  in  running  he 
had  picked  up  a  large  bludgeon  which  lay  in  his  path, 
and  shaking  himself  loose  from  the  grasp  of  his  as- 
sailants he  laid  about  him  so  briskly  with  this  for- 
midable weapon  that  in  a  moment  the  three  Mexi- 
cans lay  stunned  on  the  ground  at  his  feet,  then 
hastily  joining  Jesse,  who  had  already  mounted  and 
was  holding  his  horse  for  him,  he  sprang  into  the 
saddle,  arfd  putting  spurs  to  their  restless  steeds  they 
plunged  boldly  into  the  Rio  Grande  and  swam  to 
the  other  side,  while  the  Mexicans  were  riding  about 
in  every  direction  trying  to  find  the  bandits  whom 
they  did  not  imagine  would  dare  to  take  to  the  river. 
The  boys  made  good  their  escape,  but  the  wounds 
they  had  received  in  the  fight  were  of  a  most  pain- 
21 


5° 


THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  51 

ful  nature  and  required  careful  attention.  Frank's 
was  the  most  severe,  and  had  not  Jesse  bandaged  it 
with  the  greatest  skill  the  outlaw  must  have  bled  to 
death  before  obtaining  medical  aid,  for  one  of  the 
veins  in  his  neck  had  been  severed.  The  two  reached 
Concepcion,  a  small  town  in  Texas,  about  one  hun- 
dred miles  from  Matamoras,  where  they  remained  in 
charge  of  a  surgeon  for  nearly  three  months  before 
their  wounds  had  healed  sufficiently  to  permit  them 
to  travel. 


PLUNDERING  AN  IOWA  BANK. 

In  the  spring  of  1871  Jesse  and  Frank  James  se- 
cretly returned  to  their  haunts  in  Jackson  county, 
Missouri,  where  they  remained  for  some  time  arrang- 
ing for  an  expedition  into  Iowa.  Their  plans  being 
perfected,  they,  with  five  other  bandits,  started 
north,  riding  by  night,  until  they  reached  Corydon, 
the  bank  in  which  place  they  had  previously  decided 
to  rob.  At  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  seven 
desperadoes  made  a  furious  charge  into  the  center  of 
the  town  and  commenced  a  fusilade  of  firing,  threat- 
ening to  kill  every  person  found  on  the  streets  with- 
in five  minutes  afterward.  None  of  the  citizens 
thought  of  offering  any  resistance,  and  dashing  up 
to  the  bank,  three  of  the  robbers  dismounted  and 
rushed  in  with  cocked  pistols,  and  demanded  of  the 


52  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

cashier  every  cent  the  bank  contained.  Finding 
himself  powerless,  and  realizing  that  death  would  be 
his  certain  portion  if  he  refused  to  comply  with  the 
immediate  demands  of  the  desperate  outlaws,  the 
cashier  opened  the  safe  and  permitted  them  to  ap- 
propriate nearly  $40,000.  The  money  was  placed  in 
a  sack,  which  they  invariably  carried  with  them  for 
the  purpose,  and  then  the  sevesa  desperadoes  rode 
rapidly  out  of  the  city,  firing  their  pistols  indiscrim- 
inately as  they  swept  through  the  streets. 

The  citizens  were,  of  course,  intensely  excited,  and 
after  the  disappearance  of  the  robbers  a  hundred 
persons  volunteered  their  services  to  the  sheriff  to 
assist  in  the  apprehension  of  the  bold  plunderers. 
Efforts  at  capture  were  made  by  a  large  body  of 
men,  but  like  all  similar  attempts,  the  result  was 
nothing.  They  were  followed  into  Missouri  and  tele- 
grams sent  to  every  town  in  the  State,  but,  like  imps 
of  darkness,  the  seven  dare-devils  disappeared  and 
were  not  again  seen  for  several  months ;  but  it  is  now 
known  that  they  were  lying  quietly  in  their  impreg- 
nable haunt  in  the  eastern  part  of  Jackson  county, 
waiting  for  a  return  of  quiet. 


ANOTHER  BANK  ROBBERY  IN  KENTUCKY. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1870,  Jesse  and  Frank  James 
visited  Kentucky,  where  they  had  a  large  number  of 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES,  53 

friends  and  relatives,  who  admired  their  bravery  and 
condoned  their  crimes.  They  remained  here  until  in 
the  early  part  of  the  spring  of  1874,  when  they  and 
the  Younger  boys  conceived  a  plan  for  robbing  the 
bank  at  Columbia,  Kentucky.  On  the  29th  of  April 
of  that  year,  the  three  Youngers  and  the  two  James 
Boys  entered  Columbia  about  the  same  hour  from 
five  different  roads,  so  that  there  was  not  the  least 
apprehension  excited.  Just  before  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  the  five  desperadoes  rode  up  to  the 
bank  together,  while  Frank  James  and  Cole  Younger 
leisurely  dismounted  and  entered  the  bank,  where 
they  found  the  cashier,  Mr.  Martin,  the  president, 
Mr.  Dalrymple,  and  another  gentleman  engaged  in  a 
conversation.  Without  losing  any  time  or  creating 
any  suspicion  from  the  citizens  of  the  place,  the  two 
bandits  drew  their  pistols  and  going  behind  the  bank 
counter,  leveled  them  at  the  heads  of  the  cashier  and 
president,  and  demanded  the  keys  to  the  safe.  See- 
ing, at  a  glance,  however,  that  the  safe  was  secured 
by  a  combination  lock,  they  commanded  the  cashier 
to  open  it  under  penalty  of  immediate  death  if  he 
refused.  Martin  was  a  brave  man,  and  instead  of 
being  intimidated,  tried  to  raise  an  alarm  ;  but  at  the 
first  outcry  Frank  James  thrust  a  heavy  navy  revol- 
ver into  his  face  and  fired,  killing  him  instantly ;  at 
the  same  moment  Cole  Younger  fired  at  the  presi- 
dent but,  luckily,  that  gentleman  struck  up  the  pistol, 
and  running  into  the  back  office,  escaped  with  his 


54  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

life.  The  two  robbers  hastily  gathered  the  money 
that  was  in  sight,  (about  #200,)  and  gaining  their 
horses  the  five  rode  out  of  the  town  at  a  rapid 
pace. 

Fifteen  men,  headed  by  the  sheriff,  went  in  pursuit 
of  the  desperadoes,  and  chased  them  hard  into  the 
eastern  part  of  Tennessee,  where  the  trail  was  lost  in 
the  Cumberland  range.  Again  the  bandits  doubled 
on  their  tracks,  after  the  pursuit  was  abandoned,  and 
went  into  the  western  part  of  Texas,  where  they 
mingled  with  the  lawless  elements  of  the  border. 

Every  attempt  at  their  capture  had  proven  fruit- 
less, and  for  the  time  being,  the  provincial  banks 
were  kept  well  armed  in  anticipation  of  a  raid.  The 
James  Boys  were  too  crafty  to  appear  again  in  the 
counties  where  their  terrible  deeds  had  excited  the 
people  to  desperation.  They  waited  until  the  mem- 
ory of  their  crimes  had  been  partially  forgotten,  and 
then  planned  new  schemes  of  pillage. 


ROBBING  OF  THE  CASH-BOX  AT  THE 
KANSAS  CITY  FAIR, 

On  the  26th  of  September,  1872,  the  people  of 
Kansas  City  had  an  opportunity  for  considering  the 
cunning  and  bravery  of  the  James  Boys,  from  imme- 
diate circumstances  which  suddenly  involved  the 
city  in  a  furore  of  excitement.     It  was  on  Thursday, 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  55 

the  "  big  day  "  of  the  Kansas  City  Exposition,  when 
nearly  thirty  thousand  visitors  were  assembled  to  see 
the  races,  and  particularly  to  witness  Ethan  Allen 
trot  in  harness  against  a  running  mate.  The  crowd 
was  immense  and  of  course  the  gate  receipts  were 
correspondingly  large.  About  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  Mr.  Hall,  the  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  association,  counted  up  the  receipts  of  the  day, 
which  were  nearly  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  placing 
the  money  in  a  tin  box  kept  for  the  purpose,  he  told 
one  of  his  assistants  to  take  it  to  the  First  National 
Bank  where,  although  it  was  after  banking  hours, 
arrangements  had  been  made  to  make  the  deposit. 
No  thought  was  entertained  that  any  attempt  would 
be  made  to  steal  the  cash-box  while  so  many  people 
were  constantly  on  the  highway  leading  to  the  city, 
and  the  young  man  started  off  whistling  gaily,  car- 
rying the  treasure  box  by  a  wire  handle  in  his  right 
hand.  As  he  reached  the  entrance  gate,  where 
more  than  a  dozen  persons  were  coming  in  and 
going  out,  three  men  on  horseback  (Jesse  and  Frank 
James  and  Bob  Younger)  dashed  up  to  the  young 
man  with  such  reckless  haste  that  a  little  girl  was 
badly  trampled  by  one  of  the  horses ;  at  the  same 
moment  a  pistol  shot  was  fired  and  Jesse  James 
jumped  from  his  horse  into  the  confused  crowd  and 
snatching  the  cash-box  from  the  hand  of  the  af- 
frighted messenger,  he  leaped  into  the  saddle  again 
and  the  three  highwaymen  disappeared,  with  a  clat- 


56  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

ter  of  fast-flying  feet,  like  the  sweep  of  a  whirlwind. 
For  several  minutes  it  was  thought  that  the  little 
girl  had  been  struck  by  a  pistol  ball,  but  after  she 
was  carried  home  it  was  ascertained  that  her  injuries, 
which  were  not  fatal,  were  caused  by  the  horse  of 
one  of  the  robbers  knocking  her  down  and  trampling 
upon  her  hips. 

The  news  of  the  robbery  spread  over  the  city  in  a 
few  minutes,  and  Marshal  Shepherd  sent  out  some 
of  his  detectives,  while  several  gentlemen  mounted 
fleet  horses  and  used  every  possible  endeavor  to 
capture  the  robbers.  The  trail  led  over  the  hills  east 
of  Kansas  City  and  about  ten  miles  into  Jackson 
county,  where  every  trace  was  suddenly  blotted  out. 
The  outlaws  had  reached  their  favorite  haunt  where 
no  pursuer  had  ever  been  able  to  find  them.  The 
writer  was  a  reporter  on  the  Kansas  City  Journal  at 
the  time  of  the  robbery  and  reported  the  details  as 
here  related. 


PLUNDERING  THE  STE.  GENEVIEVE 
BANK. 

The  success  of  the  bandits  thus  far  greatly  en- 
couraged them  in  their  lawless  operations,  and  they 
were  constantly  planning  new  and  still  more  reckless 
adventures.  They  remained  in  their  secure  hiding 
place  during  the  winter  of  1872-3,  retiring  upon  their 


/ESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES. 


57 


laurels  and  living  royally  upon  their  immense  gains. 
During  this  period  of  jolly  hibernation,  schemes 
were  proposed  for  wrecking  railroad  trains,  and  be- 
fore the  appearance  of  spring,  Frank  James  and  Jim 
Younger  were  sent  into  Nebraska  for  the  purpose  of 


RECRUITING  AFTER  A   RAID. 


gathering  information  concerning  the  express  ship- 
ment of  treasure  from  the  west.  Not  hearing  from 
the  robber  agents  as  soon  as  was  expected,  Jesse 
James,  Bill  Chadwell,  Clell  Miller,  and  Bob  and  Cole 
Younger  decided  to  pay  their  respects  to   another 


58  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

bank  before  venturing  upon  their  proposed  railroad 
enterprise,  and  the  Savings  Association,  at  Ste.  Gene- 
vieve, Missouri,  was  selected  for  the  strike.  Ac- 
cordingly, early  in  the  morning  of  May  27th,  1873, 
the  five  desperate  free-booters  appeared  in  the  streets 
of  that  old-time  Catholic  town,  and  the  moment  that 
Mr.  O.  D.  Harris,  the  cashier,  accompanied  by  F.  A. 
Rozier,  a  son  of  Hon.  Firman  A.  Rozier,  the  presi- 
dent, entered  the  bank  to  begin  the  business  of  the 
day,  the  three  daring  bandits  followed  them  into  the 
building  and  presenting  six  pistols,  demanded  the 
immediate  opening  of  the  bank  vault.  Young  Ro- 
zier, regardless  of  the  danger,  made  a  speedy  exit, 
and  as  he  ran  down  the  street  crying  for  help,  a 
bullet  from  one  of  the  outlaws'  weapons  went  whist- 
ling through  the  tail  of  his  coat,  but  he  escaped. 
Mr.  Harris,  however,  was  covered  by  too  many  pis- 
tols to  permit  of  his  escape,  and  stern  necessity  forced 
him  into  a  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  the  robbers. 
He  opened  the  vault,  from  which  the  sum  of  four 
thousand  one  hundred  dollars  was  taken,  a  large 
part  of  which  was  specie,  and  shoving  it  speedily 
into  the  sack  provided,  the  bandits  mounted  their 
horses  and  decamped.  As  they  were  riding  out  of 
the  city,  the  bag  containing  the  treasure  was  acci- 
dentally dropped,  to  recover  which  it  was  necessary 
to  return,  and  one  of  the  robbers  had  to  dismount. 
In  doing  so  his  horse  became  frightened  and  broke 
away.     At  this  juncture  a  German  came  riding  by 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  59 

and  the  robbers  compelled  him  to  ride  after  and 
catch  the  fleeing  animal,  which  was  returned  to  the 
riderless  bandit,  only  after  such  delay  as  permitted  a 
hastily  organized  posse  of  the  citizens  to  approach 
within  pistol  shot  of  the  three  highwaymen.  An  ex- 
change of  fire  caused  the  posse  to  check  their  pace 
and  the  distance  thus  gained  by  the  pursued  was 
never  made  up.  The  pursuit  was  continued  for  sev- 
eral days,  but  without  result.  The  outlaws  stopped 
at  Hermann,  Mo.,  two  days  after  the  robbery,  but  as 
usual,  there  was  no  posse  there  to  apprehend  them. 
Several  well  known  detectives  from  St.  Louis  were 
sent  out,  and  the  sheriff  of  every  county  in  Missouri 
notified  and  requested  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for 
the  desperadoes ;  but  though  many  suspicious  char- 
acters were  arrested  the  real  culprits  were  -never 
captured.  The  amount  secured  at  Ste.  Genevieve 
was  a  great  disappointment  to  the  robbers,  for  it  was 
known  that  the  bank  usually  carried  from  seventy- 
five  thousand  to  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars, but  at  this  particular  time,  very  fortunately,  the 
association  was  winding  up  business,  and  had  deposi- 
ted the  greater  portion  of  its  funds  in  the  Merchants' 
Bank  of  St.  Louis. 


6o  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 


WRECKING  AND  PLUNDERING  A  TRAIN. 

In  June  following  both  the  James  Boys  were  seen 
in  Kansas  City  by  intimate  acquaintances,  and  the 
night  of  June  27th  was  spent  by  both  the  bandits 
with  their  mother  at  the  Samuels'  residence.  On  the 
15th  of  July,  Bob,  Jim  and  Cole  Younger,  Jesse  and 
Frank  James,  Bud  Singleton  and  two  other  bandits, 
whose  names  have  never  been  learned  by  the  authori- 
ties, left  Clay  county,  Missouri,  and  rode  northward 
to  a  spot  which  had  been  selected  by  Frank  James 
and  Jim  Younger,  on  the  line  of  the  Chicago,  Rock 
Island  &  Pacific  Railroad,  about  five  miles  east  of 
Council  Bluffs.  The  reason  for  selecting  this  place 
and  time  was  because  of  information  received  of  an 
intended  shipment  of  a  large  amount  of  gold  from 
San  Francisco  to  New  York,  which  would  be  made 
over  this  route,  reaching  Omaha  about  the  19th  of 
July.  How  this  information  was  imparted  was  never 
ascertained,  but  its  truth  has  led  to  the  belief  that  the 
James  Boys  had  confederates  on  the  Pacific  slope 
with  whom  they  were  in  constant  communication. 

On  the  evening  of  July  2 1st  a  formidable  band  of 
eight  of  the  most  desperate  men  that  ever  committed 
a  crime,  took  position  in  a  dense  thicket  beside  a 
deep  cut  in  the  railroad.  They  hitched  their  horses 
out  of  view  of  passengers  on  the  train  and  then,  after 
a  few  minutes'  work,  displaced  one  of  the  rails.    This 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  6l 

accomplished,  they  waited  the  coming  of  the  express 
train  which  was  due  at  that  point  at  8:30  p.  m.  From 
a  knoll  near  the  rendezvous  Jesse  James  descried  the 
blazing  headlight  of  the  coming  train,  and  then 
made  everything  ready  for  their  villainous  work.  A 
sharp  curve  in  the  track  prevented  the  engineer  from 
discovering  anything  wrong,  until  it  was  impossible 
to  prevent  the  disaster  which  the  banditti  had  pre- 
pared for.  The  screaming  engine  came  thundering 
like  an  infuriated  mammoth,  which  a  reversal  of 
the  lever  only  began  to  check  when  it  struck  the 
loosened  rail  and  plunged  sideways  into  the  bank, 
while  the  cars  telescoped  and  piled  up  in  terrible 
confusion.  The  engineer  was  instantly  killed,  and 
a  dozen  passengers  were  seriously  injured,  but  the 
desperadoes  did  not  stop  to  consider  this  terrible 
disaster.  The  moment  the  havoc  was  complete 
the  bandits  fell  upon  the  excited  passengers,  whom 
they  robbed  without  exception,  both  men  and  wom- 
en, taking  every  species  of  jewelry  and  the  last  cent 
that  could  be  discovered  from  the  wounded  as  well 
as  those  who  remained  unhurt.  The  express  car  was 
entered  and  the  messenger,  groaning  with  pain  from 
a  broken  arm,  was  compelled  to  open  the  safe,  which 
was  rifled  of  six  thousand  dollars  and  then  the  mes- 
senger was  forced  to  give  the  robbers  his  watch  and 
ten  dollars  which  he  had  with  him.  Fortunately  the 
desperadoes  were  twelve  hours  too  soon  for  the  train 
upon  which  the  expected  treasure  was  carried,  as  the 


62  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

express  that  went  east  on  the  morning  of  the  2 1st, 
carried  gold  bricks,  specie  and  currency  amounting 
to  over  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  total  amount  secured  by  the  train-wrecking 
band  was  about  #2,500  each,  which  they  carried  off, 
as  was  their  custom,  in  a  sack,  departing  southward 
at  a  rapid  gait. 

The  officers  of  Council  Bluffs  were  soon  notified 
of  the  robbery.  The  wounded  and  dead  were  taken 
to  the  city  and  cared  for,  and  then  another  pursuit  of 
the  robbers  was  begun,  which  was  united  in  by  sher- 
iffs and  posses  of  other  counties  until  the  pursuing 
parties  numbered  nearly  two  hundred  men.  The 
desperadoes  were  traced  over  hill  and  prairie,  through 
Clay  county  and  into  Jackson,  where  the  trail  was 
lost  as  effectually  as  if  the  robbers  had  mounted  into 
space  and  fled  behind  the  clouds.  Reward  after  re- 
ward was  offered  until  they  aggregated  more  than 
#50,000 ;  the  most  expert  detectives  from  St.  Louis 
and  Chicago  concentrated  upon  an  effort  to  win  the 
prize  and  rid  the  country  of  the  most  consummate 
highwaymen  since  the  days  of  Rolla,  the  bearded 
Knight  of  the  forests.  But  every  clue  proved  de- 
ceiving, and  the  most  cunning  of  detectives  finally 
abandoned  the  chase,  thoroughly  confounded  by  the 
marvelous  cunning  of  the  bandits. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  63 


THE  STAGE  ROBBERY  NEAR  HOT  SPRINGS. 

In  December  of  1873,  a  council  was  held  in  the 
haunt  of  the  bandits,  near  the  Big  Blue,  in  Jackson 
county,  in  which  it  was  decided  to  attempt  a  stage 
robbery,  and  the  line  between  Malvern  and  Hot 
Springs,  Arkansas,  was  selected  for  the  first  stroke 
in  the  inauguration  of  a  new  species  of  crime.  Ac- 
cordingly, on  the  15th  of  January,  1874,  five  of  the 
highwaymen,  consisting  of  Frank  James,  Clell  Mil- 
ler, Arthur  McCoy  and  Jim  and  Cole  Younger  re- 
paired to  the  scene  of  their  intended  operations  and 
secreted  themselves  in  a  dense  covert  on  the  south 
side  of  the  stage  road,  five  miles  from  Hot  Springs, 
and  awaited  the  coming  of  their  victims. 

The  conception  of  this  scheme  manifested  the 
judgment  of  the  bandits,  for  they  were  influenced  by 
the  supposition  that  those  who  visited  Hot  Springs 
in  search  of  health,  were  people  of  liberal  means  who 
would  naturally  carry  with  them  a  goodly  sum  of 
money  with  which  to  meet  expected  large  expenses, 
and  in  this  their  judgment  was  correct. 

It  was  after  mid-day  when  the  heavy  Concord 
stage,  filled  with  passengers,  came  rattling  over  the 
rough  and  stony  road  opposite  the  secret  hiding 
place  of  the  highway  freebooters.  Suddenly  a  shot 
startled  the  driver,  and  his  surprise  culminated  when 
Jesse  James  arose  from  a  clump  of  brush,  and  with  a 


64  THE  BORDER   BANDITS. 

heavy  revolver  in  each  hand,  commanded  the  driver 
to  halt.  The  order  was  instantly  obeyed,  and  as  the 
passengers  thrust  their  heads  out  of  the  vehicle  they 
saw  five  fierce  looking  men,  armed  and  spurred,  whose 
purposes  were  at  once  divined.  Frank  James,  who 
acted  as  leader,  ordered  the  occupants  of  the  stage 
to  get  out,  which  being  complied  with  the  passen- 
gers were  formed  into  line  and  then  submitted  to  a 
search  by  Clell  Miller  and  Jim  Younger,  while  the 
three  other  bandits  stood  guard  with  cocked  pistols. 
The  fright  of  the  travelers  was  greatly  intensified  by 
the  blood-chilling  threats  of  the  desperadoes.  They 
jested  with  one  another  and  made  banters  to  test 
their  skill  as  pistol  shots  on  the  trembling  and  un- 
armed passengers.  "Now,"  said  Frank  James  to 
Cole  Younger,  "  I  will  bet  you  the  contents  of  that 
fellow's  pocket-book,"  pointing  to  one  of  the  travel- 
ers who  was  a  small  tradesman  at  Little  Rock,  "  that 
I  can  shoot  off  a  smaller  bit  out  of  his  right  ear  than 
you  can."  "  I'll  take  the  wager,"  responded  Cole, 
"  but  you  must  let  me  have  the  first  shot,  because 
my  eyesight  is  not  as  good  as  yours,  and  if  you 
should  hit  his  ear  first  the  blood  might  confuse  my 
aim."  Frank  insisted  on  shooting  first,  and  in  the 
wrangle,  the  poor  victim  trembled  until  he  could 
scarcely  retain  his  feet,  and  with  the  most  prayerful 
entreaties  begged  the  robbers  to  take  what  he  had 
but  spare  his  life. 

Mr.  Taylor,  of  Massachusetts,  a  sufferer  from  rheu- 


JESSE  ANU  FRANK  JAMES.  65 

matism,  then  drew  the  attention  of  the  bandits,  and 
Jesse  James  offered  to  bet  his  share  of  the  booty  that 
he  could  throw  his  bowie-knife  through  Taylor's 
underclothing  without  drawing  blood.  It  was  thus 
the  bandits  jested  with  one  another  and  in  turn  had 
each  of  the  fear-stricken  passengers  praying  for  his 
life. 

When  the  search  was  concluded,  Frank  James  pro- 
duced a  memorandum  book  and  took  the  names  of 
all  the  travelers,  saying :  "  I  am  like  lightning,  I  don't 
want  to  strike  the  same  parties  twice." 

The  total  amount  of  money  and  valuables  taken 
approximated  #4,000,  the  heaviest  loser  being  Ex- 
Gov.  Burbank,  of  Dakota,  from  whom  the  robbers 
secured  #1,500.  When  the  bandits  left  their  victims, 
they  graciously  and  with  great  punctilio,  raised  their 
hats  and  bade  them  a  most  courteous  adieu,  wishing 
them  a  pleasant  visit  at  the  Springs. 

When  the  travelers  reached  Hot  Springs  they  were 
in  a  sorry  plight,  not  one  of  them  having  enough 
money  to  send  a  message  home  for  additional  funds, 
but  the  citizens  kindly  provided  for  their  wants  and 
exhibited  much  sympathy,  but  little  or  no  attempt 
was  made  to  capture  the  highwaymen.  Indeed  any 
such  effort  would  have  undoubtedly  terminated  fruit- 
lessly, for,  in  addition  to  the  cunning  and  bravery  of 
the  bandits,  the  mountainous  nature  of  the  country 
would  have  prevented  a  pursuing  party  from  making 
up  the  time  lost  in  reporting  the  circumstances  of  the 
robbery.     2l 


66  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 


THE  TRAIN  ROBBERY  AT  GAD'S  HILL. 

After  leaving  the  scene  of  their  Hot  Springs  ad- 
venture the  five  daring  highwaymen,  finding  that 
they  were  not  pursued,  rode  up  into  the  northern 
part  of  Arkansas,  where  they  had  several  friends,  and 
there  planned  a  scheme  for  plundering  a  train  on  the 
Iron  Mountain  Railroad.  The  place  chosen  for  the 
purpose  was  Gad's  Hill,  a  very  small  station  in 
Wayne  county,  Missouri,  which,  in  the  summer 
time,  is  almost  hidden  by  the  copse  of  pine  trees 
which  surrounds  it.  The  adjacent  country  was  a 
very  jungle  in  which  it  was  easy  to  hide  and  elude 
the  most  determined  pursuit. 

On  the  last  day  of  January,  1874,  but  little  more 
than  two  weeks  after  their  last  successful  robbery, 
the  five  bandits,  with  Frank  James  still  acting  as  lead- 
er, rode  into  the  station  and  made  prisoners  of  every 
man  in  the  place,  consisting  of  the  railroad  agent,  a 
saloon-keeper,  blacksmith,  two  wood-choppers,  and 
the  son  of  Dr.  John  M.  Rock.  These  were  confined 
in  the  station  house  under  threats  of  instant  death  if 
any  attempt  at  escape  were  made.  Having  pre- 
vented every  means  of  alarm,  the  desperadoes  turned 
the  switch  in  order  to  ditch  the  train  if  it  attempted 
to  run  past,  (as  Gad's  Hill  was  only  a  flag  station,) 
and  then  planted  a  red  flag  in  the  track  immediately 
in  front  of  the  station  house. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  67 

The  train  was  not  due  until  5:40  in  the  evening,  at 
which  time  the  shadows  of  twilight  curtained  the 
little  place  and  prepared  the  approach  of  darkness. 
Promptly  upon  time  the  train  came  bowling  along, 
and  the  engineer,  seeing  the  danger-signal  ahead, 
brought  the  engine  to  a  standstill  alongside  the  sta- 
tion house.  No  one  was  seen  when  the  train  stopped, 
but  in  a  moment  thereafter  Cole  Younger  mounted 
the  cab  and,  with  drawn  pistol,  compelled  the  engi- 
neer and  fireman  to  leave  the  engine  and  walk  out 
into  the  woods.  Mr.  Alford,  the  conductor,  was  ar- 
rested by  Jesse  James  as  he  stepped  from  the  train 
to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  display  of  the  red  flag. 
He  was  forced  to  give  up  his  watch  and  #75.00  in 
money,  after  which  he  was  placed  in  the  station 
house.  Then  began  a  sack  of  the  passengers.  Clell 
Miller,  Jim  Younger  and  Frank  James  searched  the 
affrighted  people  in  the  cars,  while  Jesse  James  and 
Cole  Younger,  taking  opposite  sides  of  the  train, 
maintained  a  watch  and  kept  shooting  in  various  di- 
rections, while  they  uttered  terrible  oaths  and  threats, 
to  keep  the  passengers  in  a  state  of  constant  trepi- 
dation.   * 

After  stripping  all  the  passengers  of  every  bit  of 
valuables,  the  outlaws  proceeded  to  the  express  car, 
where  they  broke  open  the  safe  and  secured  the  con- 
tents. The  mail  car  was  next  plundered  and  the  let- 
ters cut  open,  one  of  which  contained  #2,000,  and 
several  smaller  sums    were    obtained.      The    total 


68  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

amount  of  booty  secured  by  the  bandits  was  about 
#11,500.  Having  again  successfully  accomplished 
their  criminal  purpose  without  meeting  any  resist- 
ance, the  five  desperadoes  released  those  confined  in 
the  station  house ;  the  engineer  and  fireman  were 
recalled  from  their  position  in  the  woods,  and  the 
train  was  ordered  to  proceed.  Then  mounting  their 
horses,  which  were  hitched  near  by,  the  outlaws 
rode  into  the  brush  and  disappeared  in  the  darkness. 
When  the  train  reached  Piedmont  information  of 
the  robbery  was  telegraphed  to  Little  Rock,  St. 
Louis,  and  all  the  towns  along  the  road.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day,  a  large  body  of  well-armed  men 
started  from  Ironton  and  Piedmont  in  pursuit  of  the 
desperate  outlaws,  and  soon  got  on  their  track.  The 
pursuing  party  found  where  the  bandits  had  break- 
fasted, sixty  miles  from  Gad's  Hill;  following  the 
trail  closely  on  the  second  day  the  citizen's  posse 
reached  the  spot  where  the  outlaws  had  spent  the 
night,  and  they  were  encouraged  by  the  belief  that 
a  capture  might  be  effected  before  the  close  of  the 
day,  but  suddenly  the  party  came  to  a  low  marsh 
through  which  it  was  dangerous  to  ride,  and  in*  search- 
ing for  a  pathway  around  the  boggy  district  much 
time  was  lost  and  the  trail  of  the  robbers  could  not 
be  f6und  again ;  so  the  pursuit  was  abandoned. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  69 

WICHER'S  UNFORTUNATE  HUNT  FOR  THE 
JAMES  BOYS. 

In  the  spring  of  1874  John  W.  Wicher  of  Chicago, 
a  brave,  cool,  cunning  man,  scarcely  thirty  years  of 
age,  connected  with  the  Pinkerton  force,  appeared 
before  his  chief  and  asked  to  be  sent  out  to  discover 
the  hiding  place  of  the  terrible  brigands.  He  was 
fully  informed  of  the  dangers  of  such  a  mission,  but 
his  self-reliance  and  pride  made  him  anxious  to  make 
the  attempt  which  had  already  cost  the  lives  of  so 
many  courageous  officials.  The  chief  gave  his  con*- 
sent,  and  Wicher  set  out  at  once  for  the  Samuels 
residence.  In  the  early  part  of  March  the  detective 
arrived  in  Liberty,  where  he  soon  laid  his  schemes 
before  the  sheriff  of  Clay  county,  and  asked  for  as- 
sistance when  the  time  and  circumstances  were  ripe 
for  a  strike.  The  sheriff  promised  all  needful  aid 
and  gave  Wicher  all  the  information  in  his  possession 
concerning  the  habits  and  rendezvous  of  the  James 
and  Younger  boys. 

Changing  his  garb  for  the  habit  of  a  tramp,  Wicher 
left  Liberty  on  the  15th  of  March  and  arrived  at 
Kearney  on  the  same  day,  late  in  the  afternoon.  He 
took  the  road  leading  directly  to  the  Samuels  resi- 
dence and  had  proceeded  perhaps  two  miles  on  the 
lonely  highway,  when  suddenly  Jesse  James  walked 
out  from  behind  a  pile  of  dead  brush  and,  with  pistol 
presented,  confronted   the  detective.     Wicher's  sur- 


JO  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

prise  was  complete,  but  he  manifested  not  the  least 
excitement,  his  cool  self-possession  never  deserting 
him  for  a  moment. 

"  Where  are  you  going  ? "  was  the  first  remark 
made  by  Jesse  James. 

"  I  am  looking  for  work,"  was  Wiener's  reply. 

"  What  kind  of  work  do  you  want,  and  where  do 
you  expect  to  find  it  ?  "  asked  Jesse,  his  pistol  still 
pointing  full  in  poor  Wiener's  face. 

"  I  have  been  used  to  farm  labor,  and  hope  to  find 
something  to  do  on  some  farm  in  the  vicinity, "  re- 
sponded the  detective. 

Jesse  James  smiled  contemptuously  and  then  gave 
a  sharp  whistle,  which  brought  to  his  side  Clell  Mil- 
ler and  Frank  James,  whose  near  presence  Wicher 
had  not  thought  of.  The  conversation  then  contin- 
ued.    Said  Jesse : 

"  You  don't  look  much  like  a  laborer,  nor  is  there 
any  appearance  of  a  tramp  about  you  except  in  your 
clothes.  Now  I  want  you  to  acknowledge  frankly 
just  what  your  purpose  is  in  this  part  of  the  country." 

The  detective  began  to  realize  how  critical  was  his 
position,  and  that  unless  the  most  fortuitous  circum- 
stance should  arise  in  his  favor  his  chances  of  escape 
were  exceedingly  small.  But  with  the  same  cool- 
ness he  made  reply : 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  I  am  nothing  more  than  a  poor 
man,  without  as  much  as  a  dollar  in  my  pocket,  and 
what  I  have  told  you  as  to  my  purpose  is  true.     If 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  yi 

you  will  be  good  enough  to  let  me  proceed,  or  fur- 
nish me  with  means  by  which  I  can  secure  work  I  shall 
be  thankful." 

At  this  the  bandits  laughed  scornfully,  while  Jesse 
James  proceeded  with  the  examination :  "  I  think 
you  are  from  Chicago,  and  when  you  arrived  at  Lib- 
erty a  few  days  ago  you  wore  much  better  clothes 
than  you  now  have  on;  besides,  it  seems  that  you  and 
Moss  (the  sheriff)  had  some  business  together.  Say, 
now,  young  fellow,  haven't  you  set  out  to  locate  the 
James  Boys,  whom  you  have  found  rather  unex- 
pectedly?" 

Wicher  then  saw  that  he  was  in  the  hands  of  his 
enemies,  and  his  heart  beat  in  excited  pulsations  as 
he  thought  of  the  young  wife  he  had  so  recently 
wedded,  and  from  whom  an  eternal  separation  ap- 
peared certain.  Dropping  his  head  as  if  resigning 
himself  to  cruel  fate,  Wicher  hoped  to  deceive  his 
captors,  and  in  an  unguarded  moment  be  able  to  draw 
his  pistol  and  fight  for  his  life.  Like  a  flash  from  a 
hazy  cloud,  the  detective  thrust  his  hand  into  his 
bosom  and  succeeded  in  grasping  his  pistol,  but  ere 
he  could  use  it  the  bandits  sprang  upon  him,  and  in 
the  grip  of  three  strong  men  he  was  helpless.  He 
was  then  disarmed  and  firmly  bound  by  small  cords 
which  Frank  James  produced.  ClelJ  Miller  went  in- 
to the  woods  and  soon  returned  leading  three  horses, 
on  the  Largest  of  which  Wicher  was  placed  and  his 
feet  tied  under  the  horse's  belly.     A  gag  was  placed 


72  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

tightly  in  his  mouth  and  Jesse  James,  mounting  be- 
hind, the  desperadoes  rode  into  the  deepening  twi- 
light of  the  woods  with  their  victim.  They  crossed 
the  Missouri  river  at  Independence  Landing,  and  just 
before  day  they  halted  in  the  black  shadows  of  a 
copse  in  Jackson  county.  Here  they  prepared  for 
the  punishment  and  execution  of  their  prisoner. 
Wicher  was  taken  from  his  horse  and  bound  fast  to 
a  tree ;  the  gag  was  removed  from  his  mouth  and 
then  the  bandits  tried  to  extort  from  him  information 
concernihg  the  plans  of  Pinkerton  and  the  number 
and  names  of  the  detectives  he  had  engaged  in  the 
attempt  to  capture  the  outlaws.  Though  they 
pricked  him  with  their  bowie-knives  and  bent  his 
head  forward  with  their  combined  strength  until  the 
spinal  column  was  almost  broken,  and  practiced 
other  atrocious  torments,  yet  Wicher  never  spoke. 
He  knew  that  death  was  his  portion  and  he  defied 
the  desperadoes  and  dared  them  to  do  their  worst. 
Finding  all  their  endeavors  fruitless,  Jesse  and  Frank 
James  murdered  their  victim  ;  one  of  them  shooting 
him  through  the  heart  and  the  other  through  the 
brain.  The  body  was  then  carried  to  the  nearest 
highway,  where  it  was  left  to  be  found  next  day  by 
a  farmer  who  was  driving  into  Independence. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  73 

MURDERING  COW-BOYS  AND  DRIVING 
OFF  CATTLE. 

The  excitement  following  the  murder  of  Wicher 
was  so  great  that  the  James  Boys,  Clell  Miller,  Ar- 
thur McCoy,  and  the  three  Younger  brothers  quit 
Missouri  and  again  visited  Texas.  After  carousing 
around  through  the  State  until  their  pecuniary  means 
were  well  nigh  exhausted,  they  determined  upon  the 
commission  of  a  new  crime,  stealing  a  herd  of  cattle. 
It  was  in  September,  1874,  that  the  seven  brigands 
rode  into  the  southwestern  part  of  the  State,  where 
they  selected  a  herd  of  five  hundred  of  the  finest 
beef  cattle  in  Starr  county,  which  were  being  tended 
by  three  cow-boys.  The  herders  were  cruelly  mur- 
dered and  the  robbers  drove  the  cattle  rapidly 
toward  Mexico  with  the  design  of  selling  them  to 
the  Mexicans  who  cared  little  for  the  real  ownership 
of  the  cattle  after  they  were  upon  Mexican  soil.  On 
the  extensive  plains  of  Texas  where  the  large  herds 
are  left  in  charge  of  cow-boys  to  roam  from  season 
to  season,  subsisting  entirely  upon  the  rich  grasses  of 
the  prairies,  the  owners  often  do  not  see  their  cattle 
for  months,  trusting  them  to  the  care  of  the  herders. 
It  is  due  to  this  fact,  perhaps,  that  the  bandits,  after 
killing  the  cow-boys,  were  permitted  to  drive  the 
herd  over  sixty  miles  and  into  Mexico  without  being 
pursued. 


74  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

Reaching  Camargo  the  bandits  had  no  difficulty  in 
disposing  of  the  cattle,  and  with  this  money  they 
went  on  a  big  spree,  which  terminated  in  a  fight  with 
fifteen  gringos,  who  were  saloon  loafers  and  petty 
disturbers  by  profession.  The  result  of  this  combat 
was  the  wounding  of  Clell  Miller  and  Jim  Younger 
and  the  killing  of  two  Mexicans.  The  bandits 
would  have  fared  much  worse,  however,  had  they 
not  gained  their  horses  and  made  rapid  retreat, 
gaining  the  Rio  Grande  so  far  in  advance  of  their 
pursuers  as  permitted  them  to  cross  the  river  before 
the  Mexicans  reached  the  bank. 

The  free-booters  having  eluded  their  pursuers 
stopped  at  Camp  Hudson  for  several  weeks,  where 
the  wounds  of  Miller  and  Younger  were  attended  to, 
and  in  December  the  party  returned  to  Missouri, 
thinking  that,  as  had  been  usual,  the  excitement  over 
their  crimes  had  so  far  subsided  as  to  permit  them 
to  visit  their  old  homes  and  haunts.  Their  appear- 
ance in  Clay  county,  at  least  the  James  Boys,  was 
noted  on  the  20th  of  January,  1875,  and  report  of 
their  return  was  at  once  made  to  Allen  Pinkerton, 
who,  after  some  correspondence  with  county  officials 
and  others,  formed  a  plan  for  capturing  the  outlaws. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  75 


THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  SAMUELS 
RESIDENCE. 

William  Pinkerton,  a  brother  of  the  chief  detec- 
tive, was  sent  to  Kansas  City  immediately  with  five 
of  the  most  trusted  men  in  the  force.  Upon  arriv- 
ing at  that  place  the  sheriff  of  Clay  county  was  sent 
for,  after  which  twelve  citizens  of  known  pluck  and 
reliability  were  engaged  to  watch  the  Samuels  home- 
stead and  report  from  hour  to  hour  by  a  rapid  means 
of  communication,  which  had  been  established. 
The  greatest  secrecy  was  enjoined  upon  all  engaged 
in  the  undertaking  and  every  possible  precaution 
was  taken  to  prevent  any  alarm  reaching  the  bandits. 

On  the  afternoon  of  January  25th,  Jesse  and  Frank 
James  were  both  seen  in  the  yard  fronting  the  Sam- 
uels residence  and  report  of  this  quickly  reached  the 
sheriff  and  Mr.  Pinkerton  who  were  in  Liberty.  Ar- 
rangements were  made  for  the  immediate  capture  of 
the  two  bandits,  who  it  was  confidently  supposed 
would  spend  the  night  in  their  mother's  house.  Ac- 
cordingly the  two  officers  rode  to  Kearney  late  in 
the  afternoon,  where  they  organized  a  party  of 
twelve  men  who  were  to  assist  them,  and  preparing 
several  balls  of  cotton  saturated  with  turpentine  and 
two  hand-grenades,  the  v/ell  armed  body  of  men  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Samuels  residence,  which  they  reached 
about   midnight.     A  reconnoissance  was  first  made 


76  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

with  great  care  for  indications  of  possible  surprise, 
and  after  completely  surrounding  the  house  four  of 
the  men,  with  turpentine  balls,  were  sent  forward  to 
open  the  attack.  A  window  on  the  west  side  of  the 
residence  was  stealthily  approached,  but  in  the  act  of 
raising  it  an  old  colored  woman,  who  had  for  many 
years  been  a  house  servant  in  the  family,  was  awak- 
ened, and  she  at  once  gave  the  alarm.  But  the 
window  was  forced  up  and  the  two  lighted  balls  were 
thrown  into  the  room,  and  as  the  flames  shot  up- 
ward, threatening  destruction  to  the  house  and  its 
contents,  the  family  were  speedily  aroused  and  efforts 
were  made  to  extinguish  the  fire.  At  the  moment 
every  member  of  the  household,  consisting  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Samuels,  a  son  eight  years  of  age,  and. the 
daughter,  Miss  Susie,  and  the  old  colored  woman, 
had  partially  subdued  the  flames,  one  of  the  detec- 
tives, or  at  least  one  of  the  party  leading  the  attack, 
flung  a  hand-grenade  into  the  room  among  the  af- 
frighted occupants,  and  a  heavy  explosion  was  the 
prelude  to  the  dreadful  havoc  made  by  that  instru- 
ment of  death.  A  scream  of  anguish  succeeded  the 
report  and  groans  from  within,  without  any  evidence 
of  the  outlaws'  presence,  convinced  the  detectives 
and  citizen's  posse  that  they  had  committed  a  grave 
and  horrible  crime ;  so,  without  examining  the  prem- 
ises further  the  party  withdrew,  apparently  with  the 
fear  that  the  inexcusable  deed  they  had  just  commit- 
ted would  be  avenged  speedily  if  they  tarried  in  the 
vicinity. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES,  77 

When  the  lamp  was  lighted  by  Dr.  Samuels  he 
found  his  little  boy  in  the  agonies  of  death,  having  re- 
ceived a  terrible  wound  in  the  side  from  the  exploded 
shell.  Mrs.  Samuels'  left  arm  had  been  shattered, 
and  hung  helpless  by  her  side ;  but  she  forgot  her 
own  misfortune  in  the  anguish  she  suffered  at  seeing 
the  dying  struggles  of  her  little  boy.  What  a  terri- 
ble night  was  that  memorable  25th  of  January  to  the 
Samuels  family  1  Alone  with  their  dead  boy,  whom 
they  worshipped,  and  with  a  desperately  wounded 
mother,  who  would  certainly  have  bled  to  death  but 
for  the  thoughtfulness  of  the  old  colored  servant  who 
hastily  bandaged  the  arm  and  staunched  the  flow  of 
the  crimson  life-current. 

The  funeral  of  the  innocent  victim  did  not  take 
place  until  the  second  day  after  the  midnight  attack, 
and  then  Mrs.  Samuels,  who  had  suffered  an  ampu- 
tation of  the  injured  member,  was  too  greatly  pros- 
trated to  attend  and  witness  the  last  service  over  her 
darling  boy,  but  the  remains  were  accompanied  to 
the  grave  by  a  very  large  body  of  sympathizing 
people  of  the  neighborhood. 

This  unfortunate  and  indefensible  attack,  for  a  time 
allayed  public  animosity  against  the  James  Boys  and 
turned  the  sympathy  of  people  in  western  Missouri 
somewhat  in  their  favor.  Those  who  had  been  most 
earnest  in  their  desire  to  see  Jesse  and  Frank  James 
brought  to  punishment,  began  to  think  more  lightly 
of  their  crimes,  attributing  them  partly,  at  least,  to 


yS  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

the  manner  in  which  they  had  been  hunted  and  per- 
secuted. It  is  a  notorious  fact  that  for  some  time 
this  sentiment  predominated  in  Clay  and  Jackson 
counties,  and  the  same  feeling  extended  to  other 
parts  of  the  State,  and  in  March  following  led  to  the 
introduction  of  an  amnesty  bill  in  the  Legislature, 
granting  immunity  for  past  offenses  committed  by 
Jesse  and  Frank  James,  Coleman  Younger,  James 
Younger  and  Robert  Younger.  The  bill  was  intro- 
duced by  Gen.  Jeff.  Jones,  of  Callaway  county,  and 
contained  a  provisional  clause  that  amnesty  would 
be  granted  the  parties  named  in  the  instrument  for 
all  offenses  committed  during  the  war,  provided  they 
would  surrender  to  the  lawful  authorities  and  submit 
to  such  proceedings  as  might  be  brought  against 
them  in  the  several  States  for  crimes  charged  against 
them  since  the  war.  After  a  stormy  debate  the  bill 
was  defeated,  although  had  it  passed  none  of  the 
bandits  named  would  have  accepted  the  terms,  for 
surrender  meant  either,execution  or  life  imprisonment. 
A  rejection  of  the  terms  of  surrender,  by  the  Legis- 
lature, afforded  a  fresh  pretext,  however,  to  the  ban- 
dits to  pursue  their  crimes  of  blood  and  pillage,  and 
it  was  not  long  before  the  country  was  again  startled 
by  the  daring  deeds  of  the  outlaws. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  79 

ASSASSINATION  OF  DANIEL  ASKEW. 

Immediately  after  the  defeat  of  the  "  outlaw  am- 
nesty bill,"  as  it  was  called,  the  brigands  planned  the 
execution  of  new  and  direful  schemes,  one  of  which 
involved  the  assassination  of  a  respectable  citizen  of 
Clay  county. 

The  James  Boys  concluded,  for  reasons  known  only 
to  themselves,  that  Mr.  Daniel  Askew  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  posse  which  made  the  attack  on  the  Sam- 
uels residence,  and  this  belief  was  justification  suffi- 
cient, in  their  estimation,  for  murdering  that  gentle- 
man ;  but  the  plan  of  its  execution  was  equally  as 
dastardly  as  the  casting  of  the  hand-grenade  blindly 
and .  savagely  among  the  several  members  of  Dr. 
Samuels'  family.  The  circumstances  of  the  assassi- 
nation were  as  follows :  Mr.  Askew  was  an  unpreten- 
tious farmer,  living  about  five  miles  from  Liberty, 
in  a  neat  frame  house,  but  with  no  neighbors  nearer 
than  one  mile.  He  had  returned  home  from  Liberty, 
late  in  the  afternoon  of  April  12th,  1875,  and  after 
eating  supper  took  a  bucket  and  went  to  the  spring, 
which  was  fifty  yards  from  the  house,  after  water. 
This  was  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  but  the 
moon  was  shining  brightly  and  objects  were  plainly 
discernible.  He  returned  from  the  spring  with  the 
water  and  sat  the  bucket  upon  a  shelf  on  the  porch, 
after  which  he  proceeded  to  take  a  drink,  but  as  he 
was  in  the  act  of  lifting  the  cup  to  his  mouth,  three 


80  THE  BORDER  BANDITS, 

sharp  shots  rang  out  upon  the  still  air  and  Mr.  As- 
kew plunged  forward  on  his  face  dead,  the  three  bul- 
lets having  taken  fatal  effect  upon  his  person,  one  en- 
tering the  brain  and  the  two  others  reaching  vital 
spots  in  his  body. 

At  the  sound  of  the  shots  and  the  heavy  fall  on  the 
porch,  Mr.  Askew's  wife  and  daughter  rushed  out  of 
the  house  just  in  time  to  see  three  men  steal  out  from 
behind  the  cover  of  a  large  woodpile  in  front  of  the 
porch,  and  regain  their  horses  and  ride  swiftly  away. 
The  three  assassins  were  undoubtedly  Jesse  and 
Frank  James  and  Clell  Miller,  for  within  an  hour 
after  the  murder  these  three  met  a  gentleman  upon  the 
highway  and  informed  him  of  Mr.  Askew's  fate,  and 
told  him  the  murder  was  in  consequence  of  the  acts 
of  Pinkerton's  detectives. 

This  cowardly  act,  by  which  a  peaceable  citizen 
had  been  made  to  surrender  up  his  life  for  the  sake 
of  a  savage  revenge,  destroyed  again  every  spark  of 
sympathy  for  the  desperadoes,  and  the  determination 
for  their  capture  was  renewed.  Armed  posses  of 
Clay  county  citizens  set  out  in  search  of  the  assassins, 
but  the  pursuit  was  in  vain,  and  after  a  week  of  earn- 
est effort,  rinding  no  trace  of  the  brigands,  the  party 
returned  to  their  homes,  each  one  recking  how  soon 
his  turn  might  come  to  add  to  the  gory  record  of  the 
remorseless  freebooters. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  8 1 

THE  SAN  ANTONIO  STAGE  ROBBERY. 

After  the  murder  of  Mr.  Askew,  the  bandits,  in  an- 
ticipation of  renewed  efforts  to  effect  their  capture, 
left  Missouri  and  visited  their  old  haunts  in  the  south- 
west. They  spent  several  days  in  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory for  the  purpose  of  learning  with  what  persistency 
and  the  character  of  the  search  being  made  by  the 
authorities.  Finding  that  all  effort  at  their  appre- 
hension was  confined  to  western  Missouri,  the  out- 
laws rode  into  Texas  and  soon  formed  a  plan  for 
robbing  the  stage  running  between  San  Antonio  and 
Austin.  To  plan  was  to  execute,  and  on  the  1 2th 
of  May,  1875,  Jesse  James,  Clell  Miller,  Jim  Reed 
and  Cole  and  Jim  Younger  selected  a  spot  on  the 
highway,  about  twenty-three  miles  south-west  of 
Austin,  and  there  ambushed  themselves  to  await  the 
coming  of  the  stage. 

It  was  late  in  the  evening,  the  sun  just  descending 
behind  the  hills  and  the  chirrup  of  twilight  insects  had 
begun  to  echo  in  the  solitude  of  the  place.  Eleven 
passengers,  three  of  whom  were  ladies,  were  cheerily 
cracking  jokes  and  relieving  the  discomforts  of  the 
journey  by  agreeable  conversation.  Suddenly  the 
driver  descried  five  horsemen  riding  out  into  the 
road  one  hundred  yards  ahead  of  the  stage  and  ad- 
vancing leisurely.  Their  appearance  and  conduct 
looked  suspicous,  but  as  no  robberies  had  been  per- 
petrated on  the  highway  for  many  years,  the  driver 
22 


82  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

did  not  realize  what  the  act  portended  until,  as  the 
stage  bowled  up,  the  five  men,  drawing  their  pis- 
tols, commanded  a  halt.  The  order  being  accom- 
panied by  such  persuasive  authority  of  course  the 
obedience  of  the  driver  was  prompt.  Then  the  pas- 
sengers wondered  what  it  meant,  but  before  they 
could  propound  a  question  four  of  the  brigands  rode 
up  on  either  side  of  the  stage  and  ordered  the  in- 
mates to  get  out.  The  women,  seeing  such  cruel 
looking  men  and  their  fiercer  looking  pistols, 
screamed  and  scrambled  over  the  male  passengers 
with  utter  disregard  of  propriety,  and  created  much 
confusion.  Jesse  James  and  Cole  Younger  did  the 
talking  for  the  bandits,  and  in  courteous  language  as- 
sured the  ladies  they  had  nothing  to  fear  provided 
the  passengers  acted  with  discretion.  Soon  the 
eleven  but  recently  gay  travelers  were  arranged  in 
single  file  along  the  road  behind  the  stage,  and  as  not 
the  slightest  resistance  was  offered  Frank  James  and 
Jim  Younger  had  no  difficulty  in  expeditiously  re- 
lieving all  the  passengers  of  their  money,  watches 
and  other  valuables.  Among  the  number  was  John 
Breckenridge,  president  of  the  First  National  Bank 
at  San  Antonio,  from  whom  #1,000  were  obtained; 
Bishop  Gregg,  of  Austin,  contributed  his  gold  watch 
and  nearly  #50  in  money,  while  from  the  other 
passengers  sums  from  #25  to  $50  were  obtained. 

Having  completed  the  personal  plunder,  the  ban- 
dits cut  open  the  two  mail  bags  from  which  a  goodly 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  b$ 

sum  of  money  was  secured,  but  the  amount  has  not 
been  estimated.  The  haul  aggregated,  perhaps, 
£3,000,  which  they  placed  in  a  sack  carried  for  the 
purpose,  and  then,  bidding  the  passengers  adieu,  the 
border  desperadoes  rode  swiftly  into  the  shadows, 
leaving  the  surprised  party  to  resume  their  journey 
in  a  less  amiable  mood. 


THE  GREAT  TRAIN  ROBBERY  AT  MUNCIE. 

Nothing  was  heard  of  the  bandits  for  several 
months  after  the  stage  robbery,  and  their  crimes 
were  again  relegated  to  partially  forgotton  incidents 
of  the  past.  In  December  following,  however,  an- 
other attack  by  the  outlaws  refreshed  the  memory  of 
their  deeds  and  threw  Missouri  and  Kansas  into  a 
fever  of  intense  excitement. 

The  band  of  desperadoes,  by  some  means  known 
only  to  themselves,  learned  of  an  intended  large 
shipment  of  gold-dust  from  Denver,  via  Kansas  Pa- 
cific Railroad,  and  that  it  would  be  carried  by  a  train 
arriving  in  Kansas  City  on  a  certain  day.  The  place 
selected  at  which  to  intercept  the  train  bearing  the 
valuable  shipment,  was  Muncie,  a  little  station  six 
miles  west  of  Wyandotte,  Kansas.  There  was  a 
water  tank  near  the  place,  at  which  the  engines  al- 
most invariably  stopped  to  take  a  fresh  supply  of 
water.     At  this  point  six  bandits    stationed   them- 


84  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

selves  and  awaited  the  train,  which  was  not  due  untrl 
after  nightfall.  Prompt  upon  time  the  engine  blew 
its  shrill  whistle,  and  then  rolled  up  under  the  tank 
and  stopped.  In  a  moment  the  brigands  left  their 
place  of  concealment  and  boarded  the  train,  one  of 
them,  Bill  McDaniels,  being  deputed  to  cover  and 
remain  with  the  engineer  and  fireman.  The  robbers 
rushed  through  the  cars  and  commanded  every  pas- 
senger to  remain  quiet  under  penalty  of  death.  Two 
of  them  stood  on  the  platforms  of  the  cars  while  the 
other  three  proceeded  to  the  express  car.  The  ban- 
dits presented  their  pistols  at  the  head  of  the  mes- 
senger and  forced  him  to  open  the  safe,  from  which 
the  sum  of  #25,000  in  money  was  taken  and  gold- 
dust  valued  at  #30,000.  This  total  sum  secured  was 
so  large  that  no  attempt  was  made  to  rob  any  of  the 
passengers,  and  after  the  valuable  plunder  was 
placed  in  a  sack,  Jesse  James  blew  a  keen  whistle 
and  a  moment  after  all  the  free-booters  abandoned 
the  train  and  regained  their  horses. 

Soon  as  the  passengers  reached  Wyandotte,  which 
was  speedily,  the  alarm  was  given,  which  spread  to 
Kansas  City,  and  another  large  body  of  men  was 
sent  in  pursuit  of  the  daring  highwaymen.  They 
chased  the  fugitives  southward  into  Indian  Territory, 
but  the  pursuit  was  abandoned  in  the  Creek  Nation, 
where  all  traces  were  blotted  out. 

About  one  month  after  this  great  robbery  a  police 
officer  arrested  Bill  McDaniels  in  Kansas   City,  for 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  85 

drunkenness,  his  participation  in  the  train  plunder- 
ing not  then  being  suspected.  But  when  searched  at 
the  police  station  a  sheep-skin  bag  was  found  on  his 
person  filled  with  gold-dust.  In  addition  to  this  he 
had  a  large  roll  of  money,  and  being  known  in  Kan- 
sas City  as  a  worthless  fellow,  suspicion  was  at  once 
excited  that  he  was  a  confederate  of  the  train  rob- 
bers. He  was  placed  in  the  calaboose  and  allowed 
to  sober  up,  and  then  taken  upon  a  requisition  to 
Lawrence,  Kansas.  On  the  following  day  after  his 
arrest  the  city  marshal  and  Con  O'Hara,  the  detec- 
tive, went  into  McDaniels'  cell  and  spent  two  hours 
in  a  persistent  endeavor  to  obtain  a  confession  from 
him  of  his  complicity  in  the  robbery,  or  the  names  of 
those  who  committed  the  act.  But  he  remained  as 
silent  as  if  he  had  lost  the  power  of  speech,  and  not 
a  word  concerning  the  robbery  did  the  officers  ever 
hear  from  him.  Two  months  after  his  apprehension, 
in  taking  him  from  the  jail  for  trial,  McDaniels  broke 
from  the  deputy  sheriff  and  escaped.  After  a  week's 
search  he  was  found,  but  resisting  arrest,  he  was 
mortally  wounded  by  a  member  of  a  citizens' 
posse  named  Bauermann.  McDaniels  died,  how- 
ever, refusing  to  reveal  anything  in  regard  to  his 
confederates.  It  has  since  been  ascertained,  how- 
ever, that  those  engaged  in  the  Muncie  robbery 
consisted  of  Jesse  James,  Arthur  McCoy,  Cole  and 
Bob  Younger,  Cell  Miller  and  McDaniels,  the  latter 
only  being  captured. 


86  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 


THE  HUNTINGTON  BANK  ROBBERY. 

After  the  train  robbery  the  highwaymen  separated, 
some  going  to  Texas  and  others  to  Kentucky.  In 
April,  1876,  Frank  James,  Cole  Younger,  Tom  Mc- 
Daniels,  a  brother  of  Bill,  and  a  small  black-eyed 
fellow  called  Jack  Keen,  alias  Tom  Webb,  confeder- 
ated together  for  the  purpose  of  perpetrating  another 
bank  robbery.  Keen  had  been  raised  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Kentucky  and  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
mountainous  regions  of  West  Virginia  and  his  native 
State.  It  was  decided  to  attack  and  plunder  the  bank 
in  Huntington,  a  town  of  2,500  people,  on  the  Ohio 
river,  in  West  Virginia. 

About  the  1st  of  September  the  four  bandits  rode 
into  the  town  under  the  leadership  of  Frank  James 
and  proceeded  directly  to  the  bank,  which  they  reach- 
ed at  2  p.  m.  Frank  James  and  McDaniels  dismount- 
ed, leaving  Younger  and  Keen  standing  guard  on  the 
outside.  When  Frank  and  McDaniels  entered  the 
bank  they  found  only  R.  T.  Oney,  the  cashier,  and 
a  citizen  who  was  making  a  deposit;  these  the  rob- 
bers covered  with  their  pistols  and  compelled  the 
cashier  to  open  the  safe  and  deliver  up  all  the  money 
in  the  bank,  amounting  to  #10,000.  Having  secured 
the  booty  the  four  outlaws  rode  rapidly  out  of  town, 
not  a  single  person  in  the  place  having  the  least  sus- 
picion of  what  had  occurred  until  Mr.  Oney  spread 
the  news. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  87 

A  posse  of  twenty-five  citizens,  headed  by  the 
sheriff,  set  out  in  pursuit  of  the  bandits  at  three 
o'clock,  one  hour  after  the  robbery  was  consummated, 
and  followed  the  trail  with  the  greatest  persistency. 
The  officers  in  other  counties  were  notified  by  tele- 
graph, and  armed  bodies  of  men  were  sent  out  from 
a  dozen  towns.  One  hundred  miles  south-west  of 
Huntington  the  robbers  were  sighted  and  in  an  ex- 
change of  shots  McDaniels  was  killed.  This  en- 
couraged the  pursuing  party,  who  pressed  the  bandits 
so  hard  that  they  were  forced  to  abandon  their  horses 
and  take  to  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  Kentucky. 
The  pursuit  continued  unabated  for  four  weeks,  and 
at  length  the  outlaws  were  driven  out  of  Kentucky 
and  into  Tennessee ;  here  Keen  was  captured  and 
taken  back  to  Huntington,  where  he  made  a  confes- 
sion and  was  sentenced  to  eight  years  imprisonment 
in  the  penitentiary.  Frank  James  and  Cole  Younger 
eluded  pursuit  and  returned  to  the  Indian  Territory, 
where  they  met  Jesse  James  and  his  band  of  high- 
waymen, and  forthwith  new  plans  were  laid  for  an- 
other big  robbery. 


THE  ROCKY  CUT  TRAIN  ROBBERY. 

Seven  months  elapsed  after  the  Muncie  robbery 
before  the  desperate  brigands,  under  the  leadership 
of  Jesse  James,  made  another  attempt  to  increase 


88  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

their  ill-gotten  gains.  But  in  the  meantime  the  band 
of  highwaymen  was  increasing  and  organizing  for 
another  bold  stroke.  Many  outlaws  who  had  found 
safety  in  the  Indian  Nation  were  anxious  to  attach 
themselves  to  the  James  and  Younger  brothers, 
but  very  few  were  received.  The  noted  bandits 
were  excellent  judges  of  human  nature,  and  they 
were  exceedingly  careful  not  to  repose  confidence  in 
any  one  who  did  not  possess  indisputable  evidence 
of  cunning  and  bravery ;  men  who,  in  the  event  of 
capture,  would  not  betray  their  comrades  at  any 
sacrifice.  In  July,  1876,  arrangements  were  com- 
pleted for  rifling  another  treasure-laden  train  and 
the  Missouri  Pacific  Railroad  was  chosen  as  the  line 
for  their  operations.  The  reorganized  party  of  high- 
waymen, consisting  of  Jesse  and  Frank  James,  Cole, 
Bob  and  Jim  Younger,  Clell  Miller,  Hobbs  Kerry, 
Charlie  Pitts  and  Bill  Chadwell,  nine  in  number,  left 
their  rendezvous  in  the  Indian  Territory  and,  riding 
separately,  reached  Otterville,  Missouri,  by  a  precon- 
certed understanding,  on  the  7th  of  July. 

The  capture  and  confession  of  Hobbs  Kerry  en- 
ables the  giving  of  a  minute  narrative  of  all  the 
circumstances  connected  with  the  robbery  about  to 
be  related. 

About  one  mile  east  of  Otterville,  a  small  station 
in  Pittis  county,  is  a  place  called  Rocky  Cut,  which 
is  a  deep  stone  cleft,  from  which  the  train  emerges 
only  to  strike  the  bridge  across  Otter  creek.     On  the 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  89 

south  side  of  the  cut  is  a  heavy  wood,  and  in  this 
the  robbers  concealed  themselves  to  await  the  train 
which  was  not  due  there  until  nearly  midnight.  A 
watchman  was  stationed  at  the  bridge,  whom  Charlie 
Pitts  and  Bob  Younger  arrested  and,  after  taking  his 
signal  lantern  and  placing  it  in  the  track  at  the 
bridge  approach,  they  securely  tied  the  helpless  fel- 
low and  then  joined  the  main  party.  Hobbs  Kerry 
and  Bill  Chadwell  were  detailed  to  watch  the  horses 
and  keep  them  prepared  for  sudden  flight. 

As  the  train  came  dashing  through  the  cut  the 
engineer  saw  the  danger  signal  and  at  once  con- 
cluded something  was  wrong  with  the  bridge,  and 
he  lost  no  time  in  having  the  brakes  set  and  the  en- 
jine  reversed.  The  train  came  to  a  stop  directly  in 
the  cut,  and  as  it  slowed  up  seven  of  the  dare-devils 
leaped  upon  the  cars  and  with  one  at  each  door, 
the  robbers  had  no  trouble  in  so  intimidating  the 
passengers  as  to  prevent  attack.  Jesse  James,  the 
boldest  of  the  bold,  was  the  first  to  enter  the  ex- 
press car,  followed  by  Cole  Younger.  At  the  mouth 
of  two  heavy  navy  pistols  the  messenger  was  forced 
to  open  the  safe,  which  contained  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  in  bank  notes.  This  money  was  hastily 
thrown  into  a  sack,  and  the  shrill  whistle  was  given 
by  Jesse,  which  was  the  signal  for  the  bandits  to 
leave  the  train  and  mount.  No  effort  was  made  to 
rob  or  harm  any  of  the  passengers,  the  single  pur- 
pose of  the  bandits,  agreed  upon  before  the  attack, 
was  to  secure  only  the  valuables  of  the  express. 


9o  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

When  the  train  reached  Tipton,  report  of  the  rob- 
bery was  telegraphed  to  every  station  along  the  line, 
and  also  to  St.  Louis  and  Kansas  City,  and  from 
these  points  all  over  the  country. 

Hobbs  Kerry's  statement  is,  that  after  the  perpe- 
tration of  the  crime,  the  bandits  rode  southward 
together  very  rapidly  until  nearly  daylight,  when 
they  entered  a  deep  wood  and  there  divided  the 
money,  after  which  the  band  rode  off  in  pairs,  except 
the  James  Boys  and  Cole  Younger,  who  kept  together. 
Kerry  soon  separated  from  Chadwell,  who  was  his 
companion,  and  went  to  Fort  Scott,  and  from  there  to 
Parsons,  Kansas,  thence  to  Joplin  and  then  to  Granby, 
where  he  remained  for  nearly  a  week,  spending  a 
great  deal  of  money  in  gambling  dens,  and  in  his 
drunken  moments  let  drop  such  remarks  as  led  to 
the  suspicion  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  gang  that 
robbed  the  train.  He  next  made  a  trip  into  Indian 
Territory,  but  after  a  short  stay  in  that  country  he 
returned  to  Granby;  there  he  was  arrested  in  the 
latter  part  of  August.  The  authorities  had  no  dif- 
ficulty in  obtaining  from  Kerry  the  full  particulars  of 
the  robbery  and  the  names  of  his  confederates.  De- 
tectives from  all  parts  of  the  country,  stimulated  by 
the  large  rewards  offered  by  the  express  company 
and  Governor  Hardin,  set  out  in  search  of  the  ban- 
dits. Every  State  was  penetrated,  every  suspicious 
character  put  under  surveillance,  and  all  the  ingenu- 
ity that  could  be  devised  by  experienced  hunters  of 
criminals  was  exercised. 


92  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

The  James  and  Younger  boys  and  Clell  Miller, 
rinding  the  pursuit  at  an  end,  returned  from  the  Na- 
tion, whither  they  had  first  fled,  and  by  stealthy  night 
marches  succeeded  in  reaching  Jackson  county, 
where  they  retired  to  the  robbers'  cave  and  were 
there  safe  from  pursuit. 


THE  FATAL  ATTACK   ON  A   MINNESOTA 
BANK. 

The  efforts  of  the  detectives  to  capture  the  out- 
laws seemed  to  be  chiefly  confined  to  the  south- 
western States,  and  learning  this  the  bandits,  after  re- 
maining within  the  seclusion  of  their  undiscoverable 
haunts  for  a  few  weeks,  .grew  tired  of  the  inactivity 
such  life  imposed,  and  aa  Bill  Chadwell  was  well  ac- 
quainted in  Minnesota,  it  was  decided  to  send  Bob 
Younger  out  to  find  him,  and  through  him  to  perfect 
a  plan  for  raiding  one  of  the  banks  in  that  State. 
The  means  of  communication  between  the  bandits 
was  such  that  Chadwell  was  soon  found  and  brought 
into  conference  with  the  other  members. 

The  purpose  of  going  into  Minnesota  could  not 
have  been  merely  because  of  a  supposition  that  a 
more  ample  booty  might  be  secured  in  that  State,  for 
there  were  many  richer  banks  much  nearer. 

One  of  the  prime  motives  of  the  outlaws  was  un- 
doubtedly to  make  a  stroke  in  the  far  north  which 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  93 

would  confuse  the  officers  in  pursuit  of  them,  and 
thereby  draw  the  attention  of  the  detectives  away 
from  the  favorite  haunts.  Aside  from  this,  no  suffi- 
cient reason  for  the  strange  determination  of  the 
brigands  is  assignable. 

A  decision  was  soon  reached,  and  it  was  decided 
to  make  an  examination  of  the  country,  and  raid  the 
bank  which  gave  promise  of  the  largest  reward  with 
the  least  chances  of  surprise  or  capture.  Cole 
Younger  and  Chadwell  were  accordingly  despatched 
as  a  reconnoitering  party,  and  were  to  ride  three 
days  in  advance  of  the  others,  take  observations  and 
make  report  by  leaving  certain  pre-arranged  signals 
along  the  route  decided  upon.  Those  engaged  in 
the  intended  enterprise  were  the  two  James  Boys, 
Cole,  Jim  and  Bob  Younger,  Charlie  Pitts,  Clell  Mil- 
ler and  Bill  Chadwell.  The  expedition  started  for 
Minnesota  about  the  3d  of  September,  1876,  pro- 
ceeding by  railroad  directly  to  Mankato,  the  place 
appointed  for  a  meeting  with  the  two  bandits  sent  in 
advance.  A  second  consultation,  held  at  that  place 
on  the  6th  of  September,  resulted  in  a  decision  to 
strike  the  bank  at  Northfield,  Rice  county,  a  town  of 
2500  people,  on  the  I.  &  M.  division  of  the  Milwau- 
kee &  St.  Paul  Railroad. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  7th  the  eight  desperadoes 
entered  Northfield  at  a  furious  pace,  discharging 
their  pistols  and  by  direful  threats  endeavoring  to  so 
intimidate    the    citizens   as   to    prevent    resistance. 


94  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

They  rode  direct  for  the  bank,  which  was  located 
fronting  the  public  square,  and  stopping  in  front  of 
the  institution.  Frank  and  Jesse  James  and  Bob 
Younger  quickly  dismounted  and  entered  the  bank 
while  the  other  robbers  were  left  to  guard  against 
attack  from  the  outside.  J.  L.  Haywood,  the  cash- 
ier, A.  E.  Bunker,  teller,  and  Frank  Wilcox,  book- 
keeper, were  the  only  persons  in  the  bank  at  the 
time  of  the  entrance  of  the  bandits.  Jesse  James 
drew  a  pistol  and  presented  it  at  the  cashier's  head 
and  commanded  him  to  open  the  safe.  Haywood 
promptly  refused,  and  the  next  instant  he  lay  dead 
at  the  bandit's  feet,  his  brain  pierced  with  a  bullet. 
At  this  Bunker  and  Wilcox  fled  out  at  the  back  door, 
but  as  they  reached  the  step  a  bullet  from  Frank 
James'  pistol  plunged  through  Bunker's  shoulder,  but 
it  did  not  impede  his  flight.  The  robbers  were  left 
alone  in  the  bank,  but  beyond  a  small  amount  lying 
upon  the  counter  no  money  could  be  found,  and  the 
bandits,  hearing  firing  in  the  streets,  rushed  out  just 
in  time  to  see  Bill  Chadwell  fall  from  his  horse,  his 
heart  pierced  with  a  musket  ball,  and  in  a  few  sec- 
onds after  Clell  Miller  received  a  bullet  in  his  breast, 
and  with  a  groan  tumbled  mortally  wounded  to  the 
ground  while  his  horse  galloped  riderless  up  the 
street. 

By  this  time  the  citizens  came  rushing  to  the  at- 
tack and  the  firing  became  general.  Jim  Younger 
was  shot  in  the  mouth  and  a  horse  was  wounded. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  95 

The  effective  shots  were  fired  by  Dr.  Henry  Wheeler 
from  a  second-story  window  in  the  Damphier  House, 
facing  the  bank.  The  six  unharmed  bandits  rushed 
for  their  horses  and  rode  at  their  highest  speed  out 
of  town,  followed  in  fifteen  minutes  afterward  by 
fifty  well  mounted  citizens.  Then  succeeded  a  flight 
and  pursuit  which  for  persistency,  endurance,  cour- 
age and  results  is  without  a  parallel. 

Information  of  the  murder  and  robbery  was  tele- 
graphed in  every  direction  and  each  hour  the  pursu- 
ing force  was  augmented  by  volunteers  who  sprang 
up  in  the  pathways  of  the  robbers  and  guarded  ev- 
ery highway  and  bridle  path.  The  chase  led  through 
Shieldsville  and  from  there  into  LeSeur  county 
where,  being  pressed  closely,  too  Jesse  and  Frank 
James  insisted  on  killing  Jim  Younger,  the  blood 
from  whose  wound  was  furnishing  a  trail  for  the  pur- 
suers. This  proposition  resulted  in  a  separation  of 
the  outlaws,  Jesse  and  Frank  James  remaining  to- 
gether and  the  Younger  boys  and  Charley  Pitts, 
(whose  real  name  was  Sam  Wells),  remaining  in  a 
body.  The  country  was  fairly  filled  with  resolute 
men  determined  upon  the  death  of  the  bandits.  It 
was  very  soon  discovered  that  the  robbers  had  sep- 
arated and  the  pursuing  parties  were  divided  and  put 
upon  the  two  trails. 

About  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  south-west  of 
Northfield,  near  a  place  called  Madelia,  the  Young- 
ers  and  Charlie  Pitts  were  surrounded  in  a  swamp, 


g6  the  border  bandits. 

and  captured  after  a  desperate  fight  with  the  citizens' 
posse  Pitts  being  killed  aud  all  the  Youngers  re- 
ceiving fresh  wounds.  Pitts  was  buried,  and  the 
Youngers,  always  under  guard,  after  months  of  suf- 
ering  finally  recovered.  After  their  recovery  they 
pleaded  guilty  to  the  charges  against  them  and 
were  sentenced  to  prison  for  the  term  of  their 
natural  lives.  They  are  yet  in  the  Minnesota  pen- 
itentiary at  Stillwater.  Jesse  and  Frank  James  were 
more  fortunate;  although  so  closely  pressed  that 
a  hundred  times  they  could  see  and  hear  the 
voices  of  their  pursuers,  yet  they  were  not  discover- 
ed. Day  and  night  the  James  Boys  continued  their 
flight,  unable  to  cook  anything,  subsisting  on  green 
corn  and  raw  potatoes ;  never  daring  to  show  their 
faces,  swimming  streams,  and  confining  their  route  to 
the  least  accessable  sections  of  country.  Extraordi- 
nary cunning,  a  knowledge  of  men  and  adaptability 
to  circumstances,  after  ten  days  of  a  most  remark- 
able pursuit,  covering  their  tracks  by  wading  for 
miles  in  streams  of  water,  Jesse  and  Frank  James 
eluded  their  pursuers  and  regained  their  secure  haunts 
in  Jackson  county. 


AT  GLENDALE— THE  LAST  GREAT 
TRAIN  ROBBERY. 

Three  years  elapsed  from  the  time  of  the  attack 
at  Northfield  until  the  James  Boys  were  heard  of 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  97 

again  in  connection  with  criminal  escapades.  Their 
names  existed  in  tradition,  and  the  horror  which  was 
once  manifested  at  the  mention  of  their  savage  natures 
had  become  dwarfed  into  mere  expressions  of  sur- 
prise. It  was  reported  that  Frank  James  had  died 
of  consumption  in  the  Indian  Nation  and  that  Jesse 
was  living  peaceably  in  one  of  the  remote  Territories, 
following  the  profitable  occupation  of  cattle-raising. 
On  the  evening  of  October  7th,  1879,  the  people 
of  Western  Missouri  were  suddenly  shocked  by  the 
intelligence  of  another  great  train  robbery,  commit- 
ted in  the  old  guerrilla  haunts,  where  crime  had  held 
such  high  carnival  during  the  dark  period  of  the 
great  rebellion.  On  the  day  in  question  Jesse  James, 
Jim  Cummings,  Ed.  Miller,  a  brother  of  Clell,  Daniel 
(better  known  as  Tucker)  Bassham  and  seven  others 
whose  names  are  not  known,  appeared  suddenly  at 
the  little  station  of  Glendale,  which  is  on  the  line  of 
the  Chicago,  Alton  &  St.  Louis  Railroad,  twenty- 
two  miles  from  Kansas  City.  The  town  consists  of 
a  post-office  and  store  combined  and  a  station  house, 
and  is  a  flag  station  only.  About  six  o'clock  in  the 
evening  the  party  of  bandits  rode  into  the  place  and 
proceeded  at  once  to  put  every  one  present  under 
arrest,  which  they  readily  accomplished,  as  there 
were  but  three  men  at  the  station,  and  these  were 
locked  in  the  station  house.  The  train  going  east 
was  due  at  6:45  p.  m.,  at  a  time  when  darkness 
clothed  the  scene,  and  the  masked  robbers  compelled 
23 


98'  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

the  station  operator  to  display  his  signal  to  stop  the 
train.  Previous  to  this  preliminary  the  masked  ban- 
dits had  piled  a  large  number  of  condemned  ties  on 
the  track  only  a  few  hundred  yards  east  of  Glen- 
dale,  and  had  everything  fully  prepared  to  execute 
their  purpose  expeditiously.  The  train  was  on  time, 
and  seeing  the  stop  signal  displayed,  the  engineer 
obeyed  its  import,  and  in  a  moment  the  conductor, 
John  Greenman,  was  facing  an  ominous  pistol,  while 
others  of  the  robbers  covered  the  engineer  and  de- 
manded submission.  Meeting  with  no  resistance  the 
bandits  broke  in  the  door  of  the  express  car,  but  in 
their  efforts  to  break  in  the  door,  William  Grimes, 
the  messenger,  hastily  unlocked  the  safe  and  took 
out  -thirty-five  thousand  dollars  in  money  and  valu- 
ables, which  he  attempted  to  conceal.  He  was  too 
late,  however,  for  at  the  moment  he  was  placing  the 
money  bag  behind  some  boxes  in  the  car,  the  door 
yielded  and  three  robbers  rushed  on  him.  Refusing 
to  deliver  the  safe-key,  Grimes  was  knocked  down 
and  badly  punished.  The  key  was  taken  from  him 
and  the  few  remaining  contents  of  value  in  the  safe 
were  appropriated,  as  was  also  the  bag  containing 
the  money. 

The  haul  was  a  very  rich  one  and  the  attempt 
having  been  successful  the  passengers  were  not  mo- 
lested, and  the  train  was  permitted  to  depart  after  a 
detention  of  no  more  than  ten  minutes. 

The  commission  of  this  crime  again  aroused  the 
officers,  and  as  Glendale  is  in  Jackson  county,  Major 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  99 

James  Leggitt,  the  county  marshal,  took  immediate 
steps  to  discover  and  arrest  the  perpetrators.  Being 
a  shrewd  and  fearless  man,  he  went  to  work  intelli- 
gently and  unceasingly.  He  soon  discovered  who 
composed  the  party  that  committed  the  robbery, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  were  heavily 
masked. 

Tucker  Bassham,  one  of  the  robbers,  who  was 
raised  in  Jackson  county,  was  suspected  directly 
after  the  deed  was  accomplished.  He  left  the  coun- 
ty for  a  time,  but  returned  and  buried  his  share  of 
the  booty,  which  was  one  thousand  one  hundred 
dollars.  Soon  he  began  to  exhibit  an  unusual 
amount  of  money,  and  a  spy  was  placed  upon  him 
until  enough  information  was  obtained  to  conclusive- 
ly establish  his  connection  with  the  robbery.  But 
Marshal  Leggitt  deferred  the  arrest  with  the  hope 
that  he  might  learn  of  some  communication  between 
Bassham  and  other  members  of  the  gang,  and  ac- 
complish their  arrest.  In  June  last  (1880)  deputy 
marshals  W.  G.  Keshler  and  M.  M.  Langhorn,  ar- 
rested Bassham  and  lodged  him  in  the  jail  at  Kansas 
City.  Shortly  afterward  Major  Leggitt  obtained  a 
full  confession  from  his  prisoner,  which  was  reduced 
to  writing  and  made  in  the  form  of  an  affidavit. 


100  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 


SHOOTING  OF  JESSE  JAMES  BY  GEO. 
SHEPHERD. 

The  pursuit  of  the  Glendale  robbers  did  not  cease 
after  a  week's  efforts,  as  previously,  but  Maj.  Leg- 
gitt  was  determined  to  accomplish  his  purpose. 
He  resolved  upon  an  expedient  which  evidences  his 
cunning  and  strategy:  Living  in  Kansas  City,  at  the 
time  of  the  robbery,  was  George  Shepherd,  one  of 
the  most  courageous  men  that  ever  faced  danger. 
He  was  one  of  Quantrell's  lieutenants  and  fought  in 
all  the  terrible  and  unmerciful  encounters  of  that 
chief  of  the  black  banner.  He  was  at  Lawrence, 
and  rode  beside  the  James  Boys  in  that  dreadful  cy- 
clone of  remorseless  murder.  He  had  run  the  gaunt- 
let of  a  hundred  rifles  and  fought  against  odds  which 
it  appeared  impossible  to  escape.  After  the  close  of 
the  war  Jesse  James  accepted  Geo.  Shepherd  as  a 
leader  and  followed  him  into  Texas,  and  would  still 
be  following  his  counsels  had  not  circumstances  sep- 
arated them. 

Maj.  Leggitt  evolved  a  scheme  out  of  his  hours  of 
study  looking  towards  the  capture  of  Jesse  James. 
He  sent  for  Shepherd,  who  was  working  for  Jesse 
Noland,  a  leading  dry  goods  merchant  of  Kansas 
City,  and  to  the  ex-guerrilla  he  proposed  his  scheme. 
It  was  this :  Shepherd,  being  known  to  have  formerly 
been  a  comrade  of  Jesse  James,  it  was  to  be  reported 
that  undoubted  information  had  reached  the  author!- 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  101 

tfes  establishing  Shepherd's  connection  with  the 
Glendale  robbery.  A  report  of  this  was  to  be  printed 
upon  a  slip  of  paper  having  printed  matter  upon  the 
reverse  side,  so  as  to  appear  like  a  newspaper  clip- 
ping. Shepherd  was  to  take  this  printed  slip,  find 
Jesse  James  and  propose  to  join  him,  saying  that  he 
was  being  hounded  by  detectives,  and,  although  in- 
nocent, he  felt  that  his  only  safety  was  in  uniting  his 
fortunes  with  Jesse  and  his  fearless  band.  This  be- 
ing accomplished,  Shepherd  was  to  find  an  oppor- 
tunity for  killing  Jesse  James,  and  the  reward  for 
him,  dead  or  alive,  was  to  be  divided.  In  addition 
to  this,  Shepherd  was  to  be  provided  with  a  horse 
and  to  receive  #50  per  month  during  the  time  of  his 
service. 

The  conditions  and  terms  were  satisfactory  to 
Shepherd,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  October,  about 
two  weeks  after  the  Glendale  robbery,  he  started 
out  in  quest  of  Jesse  James. 

The  plan  of  Shepherd's  operations  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  accomplished  his  hazardous  under- 
taking is  herewith  detailed  just  as  he  related  the 
story  to  the  writer,  and  other  corroborative  testi- 
mony establishes  its  truth : 

When  Shepherd  left  Kansas  City  he  was  mounted 
upon  a  sorrel  horse  and  his  weapons  consisted  of  a 
thirty-two  calibre  single-barrel  pistol  and  a  small 
pocket-knife.  He  rode  directly  to  the  Samuels  resi- 
dence, which  he  reached  at  dusk,  and  tied  his  horse 


102  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

in  a  thicket  about  two  hundred  yards  from  the 
house.  He  found  Mrs.  Samuels  and  the  Doctor  at 
home  just  preparing  to  sit  down  to  supper.  The 
story  that  any  enmity  existed  on  the  part  of  Jesse 
James  against  Shepherd  is  untrue ;  reports  of  this 
kind  may  have  been  circulated  but  there  was  not  a 
semblance  of  truth  in  them.  Shepherd  was  warmly 
received  by  Mrs.  Samuels  and  her  husband,  and  at 
their  invitation  he  took  supper  with  them.  While 
they  were  eating,  Shepherd  explained  that  his  life 
and  liberty  were  in  great  jeopardy  and  that  owing  to 
reports,  false  as  they  were,  of  his  connection  with  the 
Glendale  robbery,  he  had  been  forced  to  flee,  and  for 
mutual  protection  he  wished  to  join  Jesse  James  and 
his  confederates ;  thereupon  Shepherd  produced  the 
apparently  newspaper  clipping  already  referred  to, 
which  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Samuels  both  read.  After  fin- 
ishing supper  Dr.  Samuels  told  Shepherd  to  ride  to 
a  certain  point  in  the  main  highway  where  he  would 
meet  Jesse  and  some  of  his  associates.  The  Dr. 
went  out  into  the  woods  where  he  knew  the  bandits 
were  concealed,  while  Shepherd  mounted  his  horse 
and  rode  to  the  spot  indicated,  where,  after  waiting 
for  less  than  five  minutes,  he  was  met  by  Jesse 
James,  Jim  Cummings,  Ed.  Miller  and  another  party 
whom  Shepherd  did  not  know.  Shepherd  repeated 
his  story  to  Jesse  James  and  showed  him  the  clip- 
ping, after  which  he  was  immediately  received  into 
the  full  confidence  of  Jesse  and  the  band.      Why 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  103 

should  Jesse  have  entertained  suspicions?  Shepherd 
had  been  his  intimate  comrade  for  many  years  ;  the 
two  had  ridden  and  fought  together  in  a  hundred 
terrible  conflicts,  and  were  associated  together  in  the 
Kentucky  bank  robbery.  Shepherd  was  the  very 
man  of  all  others  whom  Jesse  wanted  for  a  compan- 
ion in  his  daring  deeds  and  it  was  unnatural,  under 
the  circumstances,  for  any  of  the  bandits  to  doubt 
Shepherd's  story. 

The  party  remained  all  night  at  the  Samuels  resi- 
dence and  on  the  following  day  they  proceeded  to  a 
spot  in  Jackson  county  called  "Six  Mile,"  which  is 
eighteen  miles  from  Kansas  City,  and  spent  the  day 
at  Benjamin  Marr's.  It  was  here  a  plan  was  laid  for 
robbing  the  bank  at  Empire  City,  in  Jasper  county. 
After  the  scheme  was  fully  understood  Shepherd 
told  Jesse  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  pro- 
cure a  better  horse  and  some  effective  weapons, 
which  he  could  do  at  a  friend's  near  Kansas  City. 
Jesse  urged  Shepherd  then  to  return  at  night  to  the 
friend's  place,  get  a  good  horse  and  at  least  two 
heavy  pistols  and  meet  the  party  at  Six  Mile  on  the 
third  night  following. 

Shepherd  then  rode  back  to  Kansas  City  and  im- 
parted the  information  of  his  meeting  and  arrange- 
ments with  Jesse  James  to  Maj.  Leggitt,  who  pro- 
vided Shepherd  with  a  splendid  horse  and  three 
large-sized  Smith  &  Wesson  pistols.  But  in  order  to 
prevent  any  possibility  of  deception,   Maj.   Leggitt 


104  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

took  Shepherd  to  Independence  and  placed  him  in 
jail,  and  then  sent  three  trusted  men  to  Six  Mile  for 
the  purpose  of  ascertaining  if  Jesse  James  and  his 
party  were  really  rendezvoused  at  that  point.  Maj. 
Leggitt  soon  learned  that  Shepherd  had  reported 
nothing  but  facts  and  he  was  then  sent  out,  splen- 
didly armed  and  mounted,  for  the  meeting  place. 
Shepherd  did  not  reach  the  trysting  spot  until  the 
morning  after  the  time  agreed  upon,  and  he  found 
Jesse  and  his  followers  gone,  but  the  party  at  whose 
house  the  meeting  was  to  occur — Benj.  Marr's — gave 
Shepherd  the  following  letter,  which  is  herewith 
copied  verbatim. 
Friend  Georg. 

I  cant  wate  for  you  hear,  I  want  you  to  meet  me 
on  Rogs  Hand,  and  we  will  talk  about  that  Business 
we  spok  of.  I  would  wate  for  you  but  the  boys 
wants  to  leave  hear,  dont  fale  to  come  and  if  we 
dont  by  them  cattle  I  will  come  back  with  you. 
Come  to  the  plase  whear  we  meet  going  south  that 
time  and  stay  in  that  naborhood  untill  I  find  you. 

Your  Friend. 

j — . 

Thus  instructed  Shepherd  started  for  Rogue's  Is- 
land, but  met  Jesse  James  at  the  head  of  Grand 
River.  This  fact  furnishes  one  of  the  proofs  of  Jes- 
se's anxiety  to  have  Shepherd  as  a  comrade,  for  he 
was  so  anxious  lest  Shepherd  would  not  meet  them, 
or  fail  to  get  the  letter  he  left  with  Marr,  that  he  re- 
turned to  find  him.     Jesse  and  Shepherd  returned  to 


JKSSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  105 

the  camp,  where  they  found  Cummings,  Miller  and 
the  unknown,  and  then  the  party  rode  directly  for 
Empire  City,  the  vicinity  of  which  they  reached 
about  noon  on  Saturday,  November  I,  1879.  They 
went  into  camp  on  Short  Creek,  eight  miles  south  of 
Empire  City,  and  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  it 
was  agreed  that  Shepherd  should  ride  into  the  town 
and  learn  what  he  could  respecting  the  surroundings 
and  location  of  the  bank.  It  was  after  dark  when 
Shepherd  reached  the  place,  and,  pursuing  his  story, 
he  was  astonished  at  finding  the  bank  lighted  up  and 
a  close  inspection  revealed  to  him  a  dozen  men  inside 
the  bank  armed  with  double-barreled  shot-guns. 
Shepherd  stated  to  the  writer  that  Maj.  Leggitt  must 
have  notified  the  bank  officers  of  the  intended  raid, 
by  telegraph,  but  Maj.  Leggitt  denies  having  done 
so,  and  says  that  Shepherd  must  have  told  some  per- 
son who  communicated  with  the  bank.  Anyhow  the 
arrangement  was  that  Maj.  Leggitt  was  to  be  in  Em- 
pire City  with  a  good  force  of  assistants  and  was  to 
be  aided  by  Shepherd  in  capturing  the  outlaws  when 
the  attack  on  the  bank  should  be  made.  Circum- 
stances prevented  Maj.  Leggitt  from  appearing  in 
Empire  City  at  the  time  agreed  upon,  but  he  sent 
word  to  the  town  authorities. 

Finding  everything  in  readiness  to  meet  the  in- 
tended attack,  Shepherd  went  into  a  restaurant  and 
while  eating  his  supper,  Tom  Geary,  an  old  acquaint- 
ance, came  in  and  greeted  him.     After  supper  the 


106  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

two  went  to  Cleary's  house  and  remained  all  night, 
and  Shepherd  told  his  friend  the  part  he  was  acting 
in  the  effort  to  capture  Jesse  James.  Ed.  Cleary,  a 
brother  of  Tom's,  was  also  informed  of  the  scheme 
and  Shepherd  asked  their  assistance,  or  to  at  least 
follow  him  the  next  morning  to  the  camp  of  the  ban- 
dits. The  understanding  was  at  the  time  Shepherd 
left  the  outlaws  that  he  should  return  to  the  camp  by 
nine  o'clock  Sunday  morning  and,  if  his  report  was 
favorable,  the  raid  on  the  bank  would  be  made  Sun- 
day night. 

Shepherd  kept  the  appointment  and  returned  to 
the  place  where  the  bandits  had  encamped,  but  found 
the  camp  deserted.  He  thought  this  strange,  but 
soon  found  the  old  sign  of  a  "turn-out"  had  been 
made  to  let  him  know  where  they  were.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  James  Boys  and  their  comrades  fre- 
quently separate.  They  have  a  sign,  however,  by 
which  it  is  not  difficult  for  them  to  find  one  another. 
This  sign  is  the  crossing  of  two  twigs  along  the 
highway,  which  indicates  that  one  or  more  of  the 
parties,  according  to  the  number  of  twigs,  has  turned 
out  of  the  highway  at  that  point.  Shepherd  saw  the 
twigs  and  after  riding  about  half  a  mile  in  the  direc- 
tion the  branches  lay  he  found  the  party,  all  of 
whom  were  slightly  intoxicated.  He  knew  they  had 
no  whiskey  with  them  when  he  left  on  Saturday  af- 
ternoon, and  at  once  concluded  they  had  been  in 
town.     Cummings  was  the  first  to  speak.     Said  he  : 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  107 

"  The  bank  is  guarded  ;  how  is  this?"  Shepherd  re- 
sponded :  "  Yes,  and  I  think  the  best  thing  for  us  to 
do  is  to  separate  and  get  out  of  this." 

Cummings  had  ridden  into  Galena  on  Saturday- 
night,  where  he  had  purchased  some  whiskey  and 
there  heard  rumors  of  the  intended  bank  raid. 

The  party  agreed  with  Shepherd  that  it  would  be 
wise  for  them  to  get  out  of  that  section,  and  they 
mounted  their  horses  and  divided,  riding  southward. 
Ed.  Miller's  position  was  one  hundred  yards  to  the 
right  while  Cummings  and  the  unknown  rode  at  the 
same  distance  to  the  left  of  the  center  which  was 
taken  by  Jesse  James  and  Shepherd.  The  woods 
were  open  enough  for  all  parties  to  remain  in  sight 
of  each  other. 

•  When  they  reached  a  point  twelve  miles  south  of 
Galena,  all  parties  maintaining  their  respective  posi- 
tions, Shepherd  gave  a  smart  jerk  to  the  bridle  rein 
which  caused  his  horse  to  stop  while  Jesse  rode  on. 
It  was  the  work  of  an  instant,  for  as  Jesse's  horse 
gained  two  steps  forward  Shepherd  drew  one  of  his 
large  pistols  and  without  speaking  a  word  fired,  the 
ball  taking  effect  in  Jesse's  head  one  inch  behind  the 
left  ear.  Only  the  one  shot  was  fired,  for  Shepherd 
saw  the  result  of  the  shot,  and  Jesse  plunged  head- 
long from  his  horse  and  lay  motionless  on  the  ground 
as  if  death  had  been  instantaneous.  Shepherd  says 
he  viewed  the  body  for  nearly  one  minute  before 
either  of  the  other  outlaws  made  any  demonstration. 


108  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

Ed.  Miller  first  started  toward  him  in  a  walking 
pace,  and  then  Cummings,  and  the  unknown  drew 
their  pistols  and  rode  swiftly  after  him.  Shepherd's 
horse  was  swift  and  he  put  him  to  the  greatest  speed, 
soon  distancing  the  unknown,  but  Cummings  was 
mounted  on  a  superior  animal  and  the  chase  for  three 
miles  was  a  hot  one.  Each  of  the  two  kept  firing, 
but  the  rapid  rate  at  which  they  were  riding  made 
the  shots  ineffectual.  Seeing  that  he  was  pursued 
only  by  Cummings  who  was  gaining  on  him,  Shep- 
herd stopped  and  wheeled  his  horse  and  at  that 
moment  a  bullet  struck  him  in  the  left  leg  just  below 
the  knee,  producing,  however,  only  a  flesh  wound. 
As  Cummings  dashed  up  Shepherd  took  deliberate 
aim  and  fired,  and  Cummings  reeled  in  the  saddle, 
turned  his  horse  and  retreated.  Shepherd  says  he 
feels  confident  that  he  struck  Cummings  hard  in  the 
side,  and  that  he  killed  Jesse  James.  He  rode  back 
to  Galena  where  he  remained  two  weeks  under  a 
surgeon's  care,  and  after  recovery  returned  to  Kan- 
sas City. 

That  Shepherd  told  the  truth  there  is  no  room  for 
doubt,  and  he  had  the  best  reasons  for  believing  that 
he  had  killed  Jesse  James  ;  but  two  parties,  at  least, 
whose  word  is  reliable  affirm  that  they  have  seen 
Jesse  James  since  the  shooting  and  that  Cummings 
has  also  been  met  by  them,  who  stated  that  Shep- 
herd did  shoot  Jesse,  and  that  the  bullet  did  strike 
him  just  behind  the  left  ear,  but  instead  of  penetrat- 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  109 

ing  the  brain  it  had  coursed  around  the  skull  partial- 
ly paralyzing  the  brain  and  spine.  Cummings  fur- 
ther stated  that  while  Jesse  James  was  still  living  his 
career  as  a  bandit  was  ended  forever  by  the  bullet 
from  Shepherd's  pistol.  In  other  words,  Jesse's 
mind  has  been  totally  destroyed.  How  much  truth 
there  is  in  this  report  is  left  for  conjecture.  Mrs. 
Samuels  says  she  believes  that  Jesse  is  dead,  and  a 
meeting  which  she  had  with  Shepherd  since  the 
shooting  was  such  as  caused  those  who  witnessed  it, 
to  believe  the  woman  was  earnest  in  that  opinion. 


WHY  DID  SHEPHERD  SHOOT  JESSE 
JAMES? 

The  prime  motive  which  actuated  George  Shep- 
herd in  shooting  Jesse  James  has  never  been  suspi- 
cioned  by  more  than  one  man,  and  acting  upon 
suggestions  made  by  that  single  person,  the  writer 
verified  the  theory.  It  is  true  that  the  rewards, 
amounting  to  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
for  the  apprehension  or  dead  body  of  Jesse  James, 
were  a  strong  temptation,  and  it  certainly  had  its  in- 
fluence with  Shepherd,  but  there  was  a  stronger 
motive. 

Directly  after  the  war  Ike  Flannery,  a  nephew  of 
George  Shepherd,  reached  the  age  of  manhood  and 
came  into  possession  of  five  thousand  dollars,  a  sum 


no  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

he  had  inherited  from  the  estate  of  his  deceased 
father.  Ike  was  somewhat  wayward  and  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  James  Boys  and  the  guerrillas. 
Jesse  James  and  Jim  Anderson,  a  brother  of  the  no- 
torious Bill,  knew  of  Ike  Flannery's  inheritance,  and 
they  induced  him  to  buckle  on  his  pistols,  take  his 
money  and  go  with  them  upon  a  pretended  expedi- 
tion. Near  Glasgow,  Missouri,  the  three  stopped  at 
the  house  of  a  friend  where  there  were  three  girlst 
the  men  of  the  house  being  away  on  business.  Af- 
ter eating  dinner  the  three  started  away,  but  they 
had  been  gone  only  a  few  moments  when  the  report 
of  two  pistol  shots  was  heard  and  Jim  Anderson 
came  riding  back  to  the  house  where  they  had  dined, 
and  told  the  girls  that  his  party  had  been  fired  on  by 
the  militia,  and  that  Flannery  had  been  killed.  Jesse 
James  and  Anderson  rode  away  while  the  girls  noti- 
fied some  of  the  neighbors,  and  when  the  body  of 
Flannery  was  found  in  the  road,  there  were  two  bul- 
let holes  in  the  head  and  the  five  thousand  dollars 
were  missing.  Shepherd  did  not  learn  all  the  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  Flannery's  death  until 
sometime  afterward,  but  when  he  was  told  how  An- 
derson and  Jesse  James  acted,  he  was  convinced  that 
they  murdered  his  nephew  and  plundered  his  dead 
body. 

It  was  more  than  one  year  after  this  tragic  occur- 
rence before  Shepherd  met  either  of  the  murderers. 
He   was   in  Sherman,  Texas,   when   Jim  Anderson 


/esse  and  Prank  james.         i  i  i 

came  up  to  him  with  a  cordial  greeting,  little  sus- 
pecting the  terrible  result  of  that  meeting.  The 
two  drank  together  and  appeared  on  the  best  of 
terms  until  the  hour  of  eleven  o'clock  at  night.  The 
saloon  was  closing  and  the  darkness  without  was 
most  uninviting.  Shepherd  asked  Anderson  to  ac- 
company him  over  to  the  court-house  yard  as  he 
wanted  to  talk  secretly  concerning  a  certain  trans- 
action. 

When  the  two  reached  the  yard,  and  about  them 
was  nothing  but  sombre  shadow  and  the  quiet  of 
sleep,  cautiously,  yet  determinedly,  Shepherd  drew 
from  its  sheath  a  long,  bright,  deadly  knife,  which 
gathered  on  its  blade  and  focused  the  light  unseen 
before,  and  then  made  ready  for  a  horrible  deed. 
Anderson  had  never  thought  of  danger  until  the 
keen  edge  of  the  terrible  weapon  was  at  his  throat. 

Said  Shepherd:  "You  murdered  Ike  Flannery 
and  robbed  his  body  of  five  thousand  dollars.  I 
have  determined  to  avenge  his  death,  and  to  accom- 
plish my  purpose  I  brought  you  here.  What  have 
you  got  to  say  ?" 

Anderson  had  killed  many  men  and  he  knew  how 
to  die.  There  was  no  begging,  no  denying,  only  a 
realization  of  what  he  could  not  avert ;  and  he  ac- 
cepted fate  with  a  stoicism  worthy  of  a  religious 
fanatic.  Before  receiving  the  fatal  stroke,  however, 
he  told  Shepherd  that  Jesse  James  was  the  one  who 
proposed   the  murder  and  robbery  of  young  Flan- 


112  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

nery,  and  that  each  fired  a  fatal  shot  and  then  divid- 
ed the  stolen  money.  When  this  admission  escaped 
his  lips,  Shepherd  sprang  upon  him  like  a  tiger,  drew 
the  glittering  blade  of  the  terrible  knife  across  his 
throat,  and  the  spirit  of  the  murderer  and  robber 
took  its  flight  into  the  realms  of  the  unknown. 

On  the  following  morning  a  dead  body  with  a 
ghastly  gash  in  the  throat,  from  which  the  blood  had 
poured  until  it  dyed  the  grass  a  yard  in  diameter, 
was  found  and  identified  as  that  of  Jim  Anderson. 
DeHart,  an  old-time  guerrilla,  was  in  Sherman  at  the 
time  of  the  murder,  and  was  known  to  have  a  grudge 
against  the  murdered  man,  so  suspicion  attached  to 
him  so  strongly  that  he  had  to  leave  Texas.  No  one 
ever  suspected  Shepherd  of  the  murder,  but  his  own 
confessions  to  the  writer  are  given  in  this  account  of 
Anderson's  execution. 

Shepherd  has  longed  for  an  opportunity  to  kill 
Jesse  James,  but  the  surroundings,  even  during  a 
long  association,  were  never  sufficiently  favorable. 
The  opportunity  was  exceedingly  unfavorable  at 
Short  Creek,  but  revenge  and  the  promise  of  such 
an  immense  reward  nerved  him  to  the  undertaking. 


ROBBERY   OF   THE   MAMMOTH   CAVE 
STAGES. 

The  James  Boys,  and  especially  Frank,  nave  re- 
mained in  seclusion  for  a  considerable  period,  and 


CO 


en 

o 
o 

33 

m 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  113 

with  the  shooting  of  Jesse — whom  many  still  believe 
to  be  dead — it  was  thought  that  the  old  remnants  of 
guerrilla  plunderers  had  entirely  disappeared.  It  is 
positively  known  that  Frank  James  resided  in  Balti- 
more during  the  winter  of  1879-80,  and  his  home 
was  located  on  one  of  the  principal  resident  streets. 
At  that  time  he  wore  full  whiskers  which  were  very 
long,  reaching  to  his  waist.  The  name  he  bore 
while  in  Baltimore  the  writer  has  not  been  able  to 
learn,  for  obvious  reasons.  He  disappeared  from 
that  city  in  March  last,  and  it  is  reported  by  Kansas 
City  police  officers  that  Frank  was  seen  in  Jackson 
county,  Missouri,  by  two  of  his  acquaintances  in  the 
latter  part  of  July,  1880,  and  that  his  whiskers  were 
cut  short.  The  following  account  of  the  robbery 
of  the  Mammoth  Cave  stage  again  brings  Frank 
James  and  Jim  Cummings  prominently  into  notice. 

The  Concord  stage  running  between  Mammoth 
Cave  and  Cave  City,  in  Edmonson  county,  Kentucky, 
was  captured  by  highwaymen  on  the  afternoon  of 
Friday,  September  3d,  1 880,  and  the  passengers 
despoiled  of  everything  they  carried. 

At  this  season  of  the  year  Mammoth  Cave  is  visit- 
ed by  thousands  of  tourists  and  sight-seers,  who  are 
usually  people  of  means,  furnishing  fat  pickings  for 
the  robbers.  One  of  the  routes  to  the  cave,  and  the 
one  selected  by  the  large  majority  of  its  visitors,  is 
by  way  of  the  Louisville  and  Nashville  Railroad  to 
Cave  City,  and  thence  by  the  Concord  stages  to  the 
24 


114  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

cave,  which  is  about  eight  or  ten  miles  distant.  The 
stage  road  is  through  a  lonely  and  rocky  region,  and 
about  midway  on  the  route  it  runs  through  a  dense 
wood,  which  adds  considerably  to  its  dreariness. 
About  6  o'clock  Friday  evening,  while  the  coach 
from  the  cave  was  coming  to  Cave  City,  it  reached 
this  wood,  and  while  coming  through  the  narrow 
road  in  a  walk,  two  men,  one  mounted  on  a  thin 
black  thoroughbred  horse,  and  the  other  on  a  fine 
sorrel,  rode  out  of  the  dense  forest,  and,  dashing  up 
to  the  stage,  covered  the  driver  and  passengers  with 
their  revolvers  and  called  a  halt.  The  stage  was 
pulled  up,  the  driver  was  ordered  down  and  to  the 
door  of  his  vehicle,  and  then  calmly  dismounting 
and  holding  their  horses  by  the  bridle  reins,  the  work 
of  delivering  the  booty  began.  The  rider  of  the  black 
horse,  a  man  about  thirty-five  years  old,  with  a  strag- 
gling red  mustache  and  beard,  was  the  leader  and 
spokesman.  He  was  rather  small,  not  appearing  to 
be  over  five  feet  six  inches  in  height,  and  would  weigh 
about  140  pounds.  He  had  light  blue  eyes,  a  pleas- 
ant smile  and  distributed  his  attentions  to  the  de- 
fenseless party  of  eight  passengers  with  a  sang  froid 
and  easy  politeness  which  did  much  to  alleviate  their 
feelings.  His  accomplice  was  about  the  same  age, 
with  black  whiskers  and  mustache  rather  ragged  in 
trim,  and  had  a  pair  of  black  eyes.  He  was  rather 
slow  in  his  movements,  but  the  business  in  hand  suf- 
fered nothing  for  that. 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  115 

"  Come  out  of  the  stage,  please,"  said  the  spokes- 
man, in  a  light,  high  pitched  voice. 

The  passengers  looked  through  the  open  windows 
and  saw  the  muzzels  of  the  impassive  revolvers  cov- 
ering the  whole  length  of  the  vehicle,  and,  as  there 
was  not  a  weapon  in  the  party  as  large  as  a  pen- 
knife, they  could  not  resist  or  parley.  There  were 
seven  gentlemen  and  one  lady  in  the  coach,  and  the 
lady  naturally  was  nervous  and  alarmed.  In  the  ex- 
citement and  bustle  attendant  upon  rising  and  leav- 
ing their  seats,  Mr.  R.  S.  Rountree,  of  the  Milwaukee 
Evening  Wisconsin,  who  was  making  the  trip  with 
relatives,  slipped  his  pocket-book  and  gold  watch 
under  the  cushion  of  the  seat. 

Very  few  words  were  spoken,  though  the  highway- 
men seemed  impatient  and  ordered  them  to  "  hurry 
up."  As  each  gentleman  stepped  out  he  was  cov- 
ered with  the  muzzle  of  a  revolver  and  told  to  take 
his  place  in  line  and  hold  up  his  hands.  The  lady,  a 
daughter  of  Hon.  R.  H.  Rountree,  of  Lebanon,  Ky., 
was  permitted  to  remain  in  the  stage.  After  the 
passengers  were  all  out  the  leader  of  the  two  villains 
tossed  his  rein  to  his  accomplice,  who  covered  the 
line  while  the  spokesman  proceeded  to  rifle  their 
pockets,  talkingly  pleasantly  as  he  went.  J.  E.  Craig, 
Jr.,  of  Lawrenceville,  Ga.,  lost  #670 ;  Hon.  R.  H. 
Rountree,  of  Lebanon,  Ky.,  handed  out  a  handsome 
gold  watch,  valued  at  #200,  and  #55  in  cash;  S.  W. 
Shelton,  of  Calhoun,  Tenn.,  gave  up  about  #50;  Miss 


Ii6  THE  BORDER  BANDITS, 

Lizzie  Rountree,  of  Lebanan,  Ky.,  lost  nothing  but 
rings,  one  of  them  a  handsome  diamond;  S.  H. 
Frohlichstein,  of  Mobile,  Ala.,  lost  #23 ;  Geo.  M. 
Paisley,  of  Pittsburg,  gave  up  $33 ;  W.  G.  Welsh,  of 
Pittsburg,  lost  $5  and  a  handsome  watch.  R.  S.  Roun- 
tree, of  Milwaukee,  saved  his  money  as  stated.  Hon. 
R.  H.  Rountree  felt  very  sore  over  the  oss  of  an 
elegan*  engraied  watch,  which  was  presented  by 
Hon.  J.  Proctor  Knott,  the  member  of  Congress  from 
the  Fourth  District. 

Tv.e  spokesman  of  the  marauders  explained  that 
they  were  not  highwaymen,  but  moonshiners,  and 
were  pursued  so  hotly  by  the  government  officers 
that  they  were  compelled  to  have  money  to  get  out 
of  the  country.  He  asked  each  passenger  his 
name  and  place  of  residence,  and  noted  them  down, 
saying  that  some  day  he  would  repay  them  the; 
losses  When  he  came  to  Mr.  Craig,  of  Georgia,  he 
remarked  that  he  hated  to  take  his  money  because 
he  had  fought  in  a  Georgia  regiment  during  the  war, 
but  the  case  was  a  desperate  one  and  he  was  com- 
pelled to  do  it. 

When  Miss  Rountree  gave  her  name  and  place  o5 
residence  at  Lebanon,  a  pleased  smile  lighted  up  tru 
robber's  face,  and  he  asked : 

"Do  you  know  the  Misses of  Lebanon?" 

"  Quite  well,"  answered  the  young  lady. 

"So  do  I,"  he  rejoined,  "and  they  are  nice  girls 
Give  them  my  regards  when  you  see  them,  and  tei 
them  I  will  make  this  right  some  day." 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  117 

After  getting  all  the  valuables  of  the  party  the 
marauders  returned  the  pocket-books  with  the  rail- 
way passes  and  tickets,  and  giving  the  passengers 
orders  to  get  in,  mounted  and  rode  off.  They  told 
the  passengers,  for  consolation,  that  they  had  robbed 
the  out  stage,  getting  $700  from  Mr.  George  Croghan, 
one  of  the  owners  of  the  cave. 

The  rider  of  the  black  horse  was  Frank  James,  and 
his  companion  was  Jim  Cummings.  These  tacts  have 
been  fully  established  by  information  indispu- 

table character,   which  came   into  tin  .ssion  ol 

the  writer  since  the  robbery. 


PERbUiNAL  CHARACTERISTICS    OF  THE 
JAMES  BOYS. 

Singula  •  aw  it  may  appear, there  is  scarcely  a  single- 
feature  of  bi. mlarity  in  the  character  of  the  James 
brothers.  Frank  James  is  a  man  of  more  than  or- 
dinary education,  and  his  manners  show  some  effort 
at  refinement.  He  is  very  slim,  and  not  more  than 
five  feet  six  inches  in  height,  and  weighs  about  one 
hundred  and  forty  pounds.  He  has  blue  eyes,  very 
light  hair  and  usually  wears  a  shortly  cropped  full 
beard  and  straggling  mustache,  of  a  pale,  reddish 
color.  His  face  is  peculiar  in  shape,  being  broad  at 
the  forehead  and  tapering  abruptly  from  the  cheek 


1X8  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

bones  to  the  chin,  which  is  almost  pointed.  In  his 
motions  he  is  neither  naturally  slow  nor  quick,  but 
at  times  he  affects  either.  His  cunning  and  coolness 
are  remarkable,  and  to  compare  the  two  boys  in  this 
respect  would  be  like  comparing  the  boldest  highway- 
man with  the  lowest  sneak  thief,  so  great  is  Frank's 
superiority.  In  the  matter  of  education  Frank  has 
improved  his  opportunities  and  is  a  student,  being  a 
lover  of  books  and  familiar  with  the  different  phases 
of  life.  He  has  murdered  many  men,  and  yet  he  is 
not  destitute  of  mercy,  and  finds  no  gratification  in 
deeds  of  blood.  He  has  tried  t©  imitate  the  traditions 
of  Claude  Duval,  whose  fictitious  adventures  Frank 
has  read  until  he  can  repeat  them  like  the  written  nar- 
rative. 

Jesse  James  is  a  strongly  made  man,  standing  five 
feet  ten  inches  in  height,  and  will  weigh  one  hundred 
and  sixty-five  pounds.  He  has  brown  eyes,  dark 
hair  and  is  of  a  nervous  temperament.  Jesse's  pe- 
culiarity is  in  his  eyes  which  are  never  at  rest.  In 
his  youth  Jesse  was  troubled  with  granulated  eye- 
lids from  which  he  has  never  fully  recovered,  which 
is  seen  in  the  constant  batting  of  his  eyes  and  a 
slight  irritation  of  the  lids ;  besides  this  marked  pe- 
culiarity, the  first  joint  of  the  forefinger  on  his  left 
hand  is  missing.  He  usually  wears  full  whiskers  of 
apparently  one  month's  growth.  His  education  is 
very  limited,  barely  enabling  him  to  read  and  write. 
He  is  revengeful  in  his  nature,  always  sanguine,  im- 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  119 

petuous,  almost  heedless.  It  is  due  to  Frank  James' 
strategy  and  Jesse's  desperate  bravery  that  the  latter 
has  not  long  since  been  punished  for  his  crimes.  In 
deeds  of  violence  Jesse  finds  especial  delight,  and  in 
his  entire  nature  there  is  not  a  trace  of  mercy. 

It  is  asserted,  by  those  who  know  them  best,  that 
Jesse  and  Frank  are  only  half-brothers,  having  the 
same  mother,  but  that  Jesse's  father  is  a  physician  in 
Clay  county.  What  truth  there  is  in  this  report  the 
writer  does  not  assume  the  responsibility  of  confirm- 
ing, giving  it  only  as  the  assertion  of  many  prominent 
men  of  Clay  county. 

On  one  occasion,  so  George  Shepherd  relates, 
while  Jesse  and  Frank  were  dining  with  their  mother, 
with  Shepherd  as  their  guest,  a  dispute  arose  over  a 
trivial  matter,  in  which  the  brothers  became  very 
angry  and  drew  their  pistols.  Mrs.  Samuels  made 
no  effort  to  interfere,  and  the  difficulty  terminated 
without  a  fight.  In  the  row  Frank  told  Jesse  that  he 
knew  they  were  not  brothers,  to  which  assertion 
neither  Jesse  nor  Mrs.  Samuels  made  any  reply. 

It  is  well  known  among  the  confederates  of  the 
James  Boys,  and  it  has  been  so  declared  by  Shep- 
herd, the  Younger  boys  and  Cummings,  that  there 
was  no  love  between  Frank  and  Jesse,  and  Shepherd 
told  the  writer  that  instead  of  Frank  avenging  the 
attack  on  Jesse  at  Short  Creek  he  would  applaud  it. 
Going  still  farther,  Shepherd  said  that  at  his  last 
meeting  with   Frank,  two  years   ago,  the  latter  de- 


120  THE  BORDER   BANDITS, 

clared  he  would  kill  Jesse  if  he  ever  met  him  again ; 
that  Jess,  as  he  called  him,  had  tried  to  have  him 
(Frank)  ambushed  and  captured  in  Texas,  and  that 
that  was  not  the  first  time  Jess  had  played  the  stake 
to  have  him  murdered. 

The  fact  of  Jim  Cummings'  association  with 
Frank  James  in  the  robbery  of  the  Mammoth  Cave 
stage  coaches  gives  color  of  truth  to  Shepherd's 
declaration  that  he  killed  Jesse  James  near  Galena, 
or  to  Cummings'  statement  that  Shepherd's  shot, 
while  not  killing  Jesse,  had  paralyzed  his  brain  and 
destroyed  his  mind. 

Frank  James  was  married  to  Miss  Annie  Ralston, 
of  Jackson  county,  in  September,  1875.  The  mar- 
riage was  one  of  those  romantic  episodes  which 
brought  great  sorrow  to  Mr.  Ralston,  an  industrious 
farmer  living  eight  miles  from  Kansas  City.  Miss 
Annie  was  but  a  school  girl  whose  reading  of  dime 
novels  had  so  far  impaired  her  judgment  as  to  make 
her  long  for  the  association  of  a  hero.  Her  meeting 
with  Frank  James  was  accidental,  but  she  had  read 
of  his  exploits  and  he  was  her  ideal.  Annie  left  her 
home  clandestinely  and  met  Frank  James  many 
miles  from  the  old  homestead;  a  Baptist  minister 
performed  the  ceremony  and  the  outlaw  and  his  now 
ostracised  wife  went  into  the  shadows  of  cave  and 
forest,  severing  the  bonds  which  bound  them  to  so- 
ciety and  civilization. 

When  Mr.  Ralston  learned  of  the  desperate  step 
taken  by   his  daughter  he   was  almost   crazed  with 


/ESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES, 


121 


giief.  He  went  direct  to  Kansas  City  and,  with  eyes 
suffused  with  tears,  begged  Judge  Mumford,  of  the 
Times,  to  prepare  for  him  and  publish  an  article 
which  would  relieve  him  of  the  stigma  which  might 
attach  to  him  by  the  error  of  his  daughter.  Mr. 
Ralston  was  anxious  the  public  should  know  that  he 
never  had  any  association  with  the  outlaw  and  that, 


FRANK   JAMRS   WINS    A    BRIDE. 

though  Annie  had  been  a  child  who  had  filled  his 
heart  with  love,  yet  her  alliance  with  a  highwayman 
had  banished  the  very  memory  of  her  from  the  fond 
heart  which  would  know  her  no  more.  Such  an  ar- 
ticle did  appear  in  the  Times,  and  if  Mr.  Ralston  ever 
became  reconciled  to  his  bandit  son-in-law  his  neigh- 
bors never  learned  the  fact. 


122        f       THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

Jesse  James  was  married  to  his  cousin,  Miss  Ze- 
relda  Mimms,  in  the  Autumn  of  1874,  at  the  home  of 
his  mother  in  Clay  county.  Miss  Mimms  was  an  or- 
phan, who  had  lived  with  a  married  sister  in  Kansas 
City.  Being  of  age  there  was  no  one  to  criticise  her 
act,  and  she  stepped  across  the  threshold  of  pre- 
scribed citizenship  to  share  the  perils  of  an  outlaw's 
life. 

The  peculiar  profession  followed  by  Jesse  and 
Frank  James  has  prevented  them  from  having  any 
permanent  residence,  and  their  wives  have  been 
compelled,  in  a  measure,  to  lead  a  life  of  seclusion, 
traveling  from  place  to  place,  concealing  their  iden- 
tity and  experiencing  few  pleasures  because  of  the 
constant  anxiety  to  which  they  are  subjected.  It  is 
understood  that  Frank  is  the  father  of  two  children, 
and  Jesse  finds  consolation  in  two  little  boys  and  a 
baby  girl.  The  outlaw  brothers  make  affectionate 
husbands  and  loving  and  indulgent  fathers. 


THE  UNION  PACIFIC  EXPRESS  ROBBERY. 

The  following  account  of  the  Union  Pacific  train 
robbery  is  not  published  in  chronological  order  with 
other  robberies,  because  it  is  not  certainly  known 
that  the  James  Boys  had  any  connection  with  it,  and 
in  this  history  of  these  noted  desperadoes  we  have 
endeavored  to  give  only  such  facts  as  are  sustained 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  123 

by  indisputable  evidence.  It  is  generally  believed, 
however,  that  the  two  noted  brothers  led  the  party, 
and,  with  their  usual  shrewdness,  succeeded  in  es- 
caping southward  with  a  large  -amount  of  booty. 
The  following  letter,  written  by  Jesse  James  to  a  for- 
mer comrade,  in  March  previous  to  the  robbery,  is 
strong  presumptive  evidence  that  he  and  Frank  were 
the  planners  and  executors  of  the  scheme,  and  that 
they  had  it  in  contemplation  even  before  the  raid  in- 
to Minnesota  : 

Fort  Worth,  March  10th,  '77. 
Dear 

The  boys  will  soon  be  ready.  As  soon  as  the 
roads  dries  up,  and  the  streams  runs  down,  we  will 
drive.  We  expect  to  take  in  a  good  bunch  of  cat- 
tle. You  may  look  out.  There  will  be  lots  of  bel- 
lering  after  the  drive.  Remember  it's  business.  The 
rainge  is  good,  I  learn,  between  Sidney  and  Ded- 
wood.  We  may  go  to  pasture  somewheres  in  that 
region.  You  will  hear  of  it.  Tell  Sam  to  come  to 
Honey  Grove,  Texas,  before  the  drive  seson  comes. 
There's  money  in  the  stock.     As  ever, 

Jesse  J. 

There  is  a  mystery  connected  with  the  Union  Pa- 
cific Railroad  robbery  which,  for  more  than  three 
years,  has  remained  impenetrable  and  will,  doubtless, 
continue  so  to  the  end  of  time.  The  particulars  of 
this  daring  outrage,  gathered  principally  from  news- 
paper reports  at  the  time,  are  as  follows : 

~)n  the    ioth  day  of  September,    1877,  a  party  of 


114  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

nine  men,  well  armed  and  mounted,  rode  to  a  point 
on  the  Union  Pacific  R.  R.  near  Ogallala,  the  capital 
of  Keith  county,  in  the  extreme  western  part  of  Ne- 
braska. They  made  no  special  effort  to  deceive  the 
people  of  the  town,  as  the  purpose  of  their  visit  was 
never  mentioned.  On  the  day  following  the  encamp- 
ment, one  of  the  party,  afterwards  known  to  be  Jim 
Berry,  a  former  resident  of  the  State,  went  into  Ogal- 
lala and  purchased  four  large  red  handkerchiefs  and 
a  gallon  of  whiskey.  That  night  the  camp  presented 
a  1  .us  scene  and  the  wild  orgies  were  continued 
unusually  long  time  that  the  citizens  began 
to  make  remarks  respecting  the  character  of  the 
nine  strange  men.  Three  days  afterward  the 
camp  was  abandoned,  none  of  the  citizens  knowing 
which  direction  the  party  had  taken,  so  that  suspi- 
cion was  directed  against  the  object  of  the. singular 
visitors. 

On  the  1 8th  following,  the  mysterious  nine  sud- 
denly appeared  at  a  small  station  called  Big  Springs, 
fifteen  miles  west  of  Ogallala,  where  the  engines  of 
the  Union  Pacific  railroad  almost  invariably  stop  for 
water.  The  express  train  was  due  from  the  west  at 
eight  o'clock,  p.  m.,  and  the  party  disposed  them- 
selves, directly  after  dark,  in  favorable  positions  for 
the  work  in  hand.  Promptly  upon  time  the  train 
came  thundering  up  to  the  station  and  the  engine 
stopped  under  the  water  tank.  As  the  fireman  was 
about  to  mount  the  tender  for  the  purpose  of  directing 


"OTS 


AN  ENGINEER  WHO   MEANT  FIGHT. 


125 


126  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

the  water  spout,  two  men  wearing  red  handkerchiefs 
for  masks  rushed  up  toward  the  engine.  For  some 
reason  the  engineer  had  a  presentiment  that  some 
trouble  was  brewing,  so  seizing  his  pistol  he  stepped 
to  the  side  of  the  cab  and  peered  into  the  darkness. 
It  was  too  late ;  the  fire  through  the  open  furnace 
door  reflected  his  actions  distinctly  and  in  a  mo- 
ment the  engineer  realized  that  he  was  looking  down 
into  the  fatal  depths  of  four  navy  revolvers  and  he 
and  the  fireman  were  forced  to  surrender  and  keep 
quiet. 

At  the  same  time  the  two  robbers  took  possession 
of  the  engine,  two  others,  with  the  same  mask  of 
red  handkerchiefs,  boarded  the  express  car,  while  the 
other  five  commenced  discharging  their  pistols  in 
order  to  intimidate  the  passengers.  The  express 
messenger  made  an  effort  at  resistance,  but  he  was 
struck  a  desperate  blow  on  the  head  with  a  pistol 
and  then  forced  to  deliver  up  the  keys  to  the  Wells, 
Fargo  &  Co.'s  safe.  The  contents  of  the  safe  in 
gold,  silver  and  currency  amounted  to  #60,000,  be- 
sides 300,000  ounces  of  silver  in  bars,  the  latter  con- 
signed to  the  Treasury  at  Washington.  The  robbers 
could  not  handle  the  heavy  silver  bars,  so  they  were 
compelled  to  be  satisfied  with  the  other  contents  of 
the  safe  and  about  #2,000  which  they  took  from  the 
passengers.  They  then  permitted  the  train  to  go  on 
its  way,  and  having  divided  their  plunder  they  loaded 
the  coin  on  three  pack-mules  and  made  off  with  it 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  127 

The  men  had  been  carelessly  masked  and  a  pas- 
senger had  recognized  one  of  them  as  a  fellow  named 
Joel  Collins,  who  had  been  passing  for  a  stock  man 
about  that  section.  From  this  the  railroad  detec- 
tives obtained  information  on  which  to  act,  and 
though  the  pursuit  which  was  organized  failed  to 
overtake  the  outlaws,  there  was  still  a  hope  of  re- 
covering some  of  the  treasure.  Part  of  the  gang  had 
gone  directly  south  into  Kansas,  and  word  was  sent 
along  the  Kansas  Pacific  to  be  on  the  lookout  for 
them.  On  the  25th  of  September,  Sheriff  Bardsley 
and  ten  soldiers  were  patroling  a  section  of  the  road 
near  Buffalo  station.  They  had  a  description  of  one 
of  the  parties  who  were  expected  to  strike  about 
that  point,  and  sure  enough  two  men  were  seen  com- 
ing down  from  the  north  with  a  pack  animal.  The 
soldiers  kept  out  of  sight  in  a  ravine  near  by,  and 
when  the  men  reached  the  station  and  were  watering 
their  horses  the  sheriff  talked  with  them  long  enough 
to  be  satisfied  that  they  were  the  men  he  was  ex- 
pecting. They  only  stopped  a  few  minutes,  then 
pushed  on  south.  The  sheriff  immediately  brought 
out  his  squad  and  demanded  a  halt,  calling  Collins  by 
name.  The  men  even  then  did  not  seem  to  appre- 
hend that  they  were  known  as  the  train  robbers,  but 
on  being  told  to  surrender  they  drew  their  pistols. 
This  brought  a  volly  from  the  cavalrymen  which 
killed  them  both.  In  the  pack  was  found  #20,000  of 
the  gold.     Collins'  companion's  name  was  Bass,  and 


128  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

he  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  the  Texas 
desperado,  Sam  Bass.  The  point  at  which  this 
treasure  was  first  recovered  was  only  300  miles 
south  of  where  the  robbery  occurred.  Subse- 
quently the  detectives  succeeded  in  tracing  several 
others  of  the  band  and  making  them  give  up  some 
of  the  money,  but  the  greater  part  of  it  was  lost.  It 
was  claimed  at  the  time  that  Jesse  and  Frank  James 
were  along  with  this  band  and  that  they  made 
enough  out  of  the  haul  to  reimburse  themselves  very 
well  for  what  they  lost  on  the  Northfield  trip. 

After  the  fight  at  Buffalo  the  remaining  ban- 
dits separated  for  the  purpose  of  dividing  the  trail 
which  was  being  followed  closely,  and  the  hope  was 
indulged  for  some  time  that  all  the  robbers  would 
certainly  be  apprehended.  But  after  the  bandits  di- 
vided the  chase  was  unavailing  and  the  pursuing  par- 
ties returned  to  their  homes. 

Nearly  three  weeks  after  the  robbery,  Jim  Berry 
returned  to  Mexico,  Missouri,  with  a  large  sum  of 
money,  principally  in  gold.  He  had  been  a  resident 
of  the  neighborhood  but  had  left  for  the  Black  Hills — 
so  he  claimed — some  months  before.  He  had  never 
borne  a  good  character  and  was  known  to  be  an  ac- 
quaintance, at  least,  of  the  James  and  Younger  Boys 
and  other  noted  outlaws.  Further  than  this  he  was 
seen  in  Nebraska,  near  the  place  of  the  robbery,  by 
parties  who  knew  him.  The  exhibition  of  so  much 
suddenly  acquired  wealth,  together  with  the  circum- 


JESSE   AND  FRANK  JAMES.  129 

stances  of  the  express  robbery  fresh  in  the  memory 
of  overy  one,  created  a  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the 
sheriff  of  Audrain  county  that  Berry  was  one  of  the 
robbers.  He  kept  his  own  counsel,  however,  and 
waited  further  developments.  They  came  soon 
enough.  Berry  sold  several  thousand  dollars  in  gold 
to  the  Southern  Bank  at  Mexico ;  exhibited  several 
fine  gold  watches  which  he  offered  to  sell  at  surpris- 
ingly low  prices,  and  besides  this  he  exchanged  his 
ordinary  habit  for  the  finest  clothes  he  could  have 
made.  Another  very  suspicious  circumstance  was 
in  the  conduct  of  Berry ;  he  kept  himself  in  secret 
places  and  appeared  apprehensive  of  some  effort 
to  catch  him.  The  sheriff,  Mr.  Glascock,  now  felt 
certain  that  his  suspicions  were  founded  upon  facts. 
In  the  middle  of  October  a  young  fellow  by  the  name 
of  Bozeman  Kazey  came  into  Mexico  with  an  order 
from  Berry  for  a  suit  of  clothes  then  being  made  by 
a  tailor  of  the  place.  The  sheriff  learned  of  this  and 
he  at  once  arrested  Kazey,  after  which  a  posse  con- 
sisting of  Robert  Steele,  John  Carter,  John  Coons 
and  Sam  Moore  was  deputized  by  the  sheriff  to  as- 
sist in  the  capture  of  Berry.  Kazey  was  compelled 
to  act  as  guide,  and  on  the  14th  of  October  the  offi- 
cial party  set  out  for  the  haunts  of  Berry  near  Ka- 
zey's  house.  They  reached  the  latter' s  home  before 
daylight  on  Sunday  morning,  and  leaving  their  prison- 
er in  the  custody  of  Steele  the  remainder  of  the  party 
surrounded   the   house   for  the  purpose  of  catching 

25 


130  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

Berry  when  he  should  come  to  obtain  the  clothes  he 
expected  Kazey  to  bring. 

Shortly  after  daylight  sheriff  Glascock  made  a 
little  tour  out  in  the  woods,  and  after  skirting  a 
bridle  path  for  some  distance  he  saw  Berry  hitching 
his  horse  preparatory  to  walking  to  Kazey's  house. 
The  sheriff  crept  cautiously  towards  Berry  and  was 
within  forty  feet  of  him  before  the  latter  discoverd 
the  officer.  Berry  then  started  to  run,  heedless  of  the 
sheriff's  cry  to  halt,  and  never  paused  until  the  second 
discharge  of  buckshot?  from  the  sheriff's  gun  tore 
through  his  leg  and  felled  him  to  the  ground. 
Prostrate  as  he  was  the  bandit  tried  to  draw  his  pistol, 
but  the  sheriff  was  upon  him  too  quickly.  Berry  was 
disarmed  and  then  carried  to  Kazey's  house  and 
surgical  aid  speedily  summoned.  On  his  person  was 
found  nearly  #1,000  in  money,  and  a  fine  gold 
watch  and  chain. 

After  the  surgeon  arrived,  Moore,  Coons  and  Steele 
were  left  in  charge  of  the  wounded  man  and  Kazey, 
while  the  sheriff  and  John  Carter  rode  over  to  Berry's 
house  to  see  if  new  discoveries  might  not  be  made. 

When  they  entered  the  house  the  sheriff  addressed 
Mrs.  Berry  and  said : 

"  Mrs.  Berry,  where  is  your  husband  ?" 

U  I  am  sure  I  have  no  idea,"  she  responded ;  "  he 
has  not  been  at  home  for  several  days." 

"  Then  let  me  inform  you,"  said  the  sheriff,  "  that 
we  have  just  captured  him,  but  in  so  doing  he  was 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  131 

badly  wounded.  You  had  better  go  over  and  see 
him,  at  Kazey's  house." 

Mrs.  Berry  manifested  the  greatest  grief,  and  the 
wailings  of  the  wife  and  little  children  quite  unnerved 
the  sheriff  and  his  deputy  for  some  time,  but  they 
had  to  do  their  duty,  and,  before  leaving,  the  house 
was  thoroughly  searched  for  money  and  valuables, 
but  nothing  was  discovered. 

On  the  same  afternoon  Berry  was  taken  to  Mexico 
in  an  ambulance  and  given  quarters  in  the  Ringo 
hotel,  where  he  was  attended  by  the  best  surgeons 
rn  the  town.  The  wound  was  much  more  severe 
than  at  first  supposed.  Seven  buckshot  had  pene- 
trated the  leg,  cutting  the  arteries  and  fracturing  the 
tibia  bone.  His  sufferings  were  excruciating  until 
Monday  night  when  mortification  began,  and  on  the 
following  day  he  died. 

At  all  times  Berry  positively  refused  to  give  the 
names  of  his  associates  in  the  express  robbery,  nor 
did  he  ever  admit  his  own  participation. 

The  mystery  connected  with  the  robbery  is  found 
in  the  impenetrable  veil  which  masks  the  identity  of 
the  robber  band.  The  three  who  were  killed  gave 
no  clue  as  to  who  were  their  comrades.  In  the  ab- 
sence of  any  proof,  judgment  being  laid  entirely  up- 
on circumstances  and  conjecture,  it  is  popularly  sup- 
posed that  the  four  whose  personnel  has  never  been 
discovered  were  Sam  Bass,  Jack  Davis  and  the  two 
James  Boys. 


132  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 


AN   INTERVIEW  WITH   THE  YOUNGER 
BROTHERS. 

In  the  early  part  of  September,  1880,  Col.  George 
Gaston,  of  Kansas  City,  while  spending  a  summer 
vacation  at  Minnetonka  and  the  Minnesota  lakes, 
went  to  Stillwater  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  the 
Younger  Boys,  whom  he  had  known  before  the  war. 
He  was  accorded  an  interview  with  the  imprisoned 
bandits,  the  result  of  which  was  published  in  the  Kan- 
sas City  Times  of  September  6th,  from  which  the  fol- 
lowing is  taken. 

This  interview  is  of  special  value,  considering  the 
obscurity  which  surrounds  the  shooting  of  Jesse 
James  by  George  Shepherd,  and  the  identity  of  the 
James  Boys  in  the  Northfield  robbery. 

After  describing  his  introduction  to  the  prison  au- 
thorities and  entrance  into  the  penitentiary,  Mr.  Gas- 
ton proceeds  as  follows : 

"  There  was  a  man  at  the  top  of  the  steps  to  receive 
us,  another  official  with  the  conventional  bunch  of 
keys.  '  Come  this  way,'  said  he,  and  we  followed 
him  into  a  square  room  with  walls  and  ceilings  of 
stone.  There  were  chairs  and  we  sat  down.  A  door 
at  one  side  opened  and  three  men  walked  in.  They 
were  Cole,  Jim  and  Bob  Younger.  They  took  chairs 
opposite  and  directly  facing  us.  They  wore  the  prison 
garb,  and  their  faces  were  shaven  and  their  hair  crop- 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  133 

ped  close.  They  looked  so  genteel,  despite  their 
striped  clothing,  that  my  nervousness  disappeared  at 
once.  I  told  them  who  I  was  and  whence  I  came, 
and  introduced  my  wife.  They  were  very  courteous, 
and  bowed,  and  said  they  were  glad  to  see  me.  Jim 
hitched  back  in  his  chair,  and  addressing  my  wife, 
said,  laughingly:  '  It  is  so  long  since  we  have  been 
permitted  to  converse  with  anybody  that  I  don't 
know  as  we  can  talk/  Then  followed  a  desultory 
conversation.  Cole  said  his  health  was  poor;  he 
complained  of  suffering  from  the  effects  of  the  wound 
in  his  head,  received  at  the  time  of  his  capture.  The 
rifle  ball  entered  near  the  right  ear  and  lodged  under 
the  left  ear  and  has  never  been  removed.  Jim  was 
shot  in  the  mouth,  but  there  are  now  no  signs  of  a 
wound.  Bob  had  his  jaw  broken,  but  he  too  has  en- 
tirely recovered,  and  is  the  handsomest  one  in  the 
trio.  He  is  the  youngest.  I  remember  him  as  a 
boy.  He  has  developed  into  a  robust,  fine-looking 
young  man.  The  escape  from  death  these  men  had 
at  the  time  of  their  capture  was  a  miracle.  Sixty 
guns  were  discharged  at  once.  Cole  and  Jim  lay  on 
the  ground— the  one  with  a  bullet  through  thehead  and 
the  other  with  a  frightful  wound  in  his  mouth;  Bob's 
jaw  had  been  broken  but  he  did  not  fall — he  threw  up 
his  arms  and  cried, '  Don't  fire  again,gentlemen,they're 
all  dead.'  And  so  they  were  to  all  appearance.  The 
pursuers  picked  them  up  and  carried  them  back. 
Slowly  they  began  to  mend  and  ultimately  they  re- 


134  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

covered.  By  pleading  guilty  to  the  crime  charged 
they  escaped  the  death  penalty  and  were  sentenced 
to  life  imprisonment." 

"  It  was  really  very  touching/'  pursued  Col.  Gas- 
ton, "  to  hear  them  talk  of  the  past  and  of  the  pres- 
ent. Cole  told  of  his  army  life — how  at  the  age  of 
nineteen  he  had  been  promoted  to  a  captaincy  in  the 
Confederate  army.  He  spoke  of  the  murder  of  his 
father  and  of  his  career  since  the  close  of  the  war. 
'  My  exploits  in  the  army  were  exaggerated/  said  he, 
'just  as  my  exploits  as  an  outlaw  have  been  exagger- 
ated. In  one  instance  I  have  been  too  highly  praised, 
and  in  the  other  grossly  wronged.' 

"I  learned  from  their  own  lips  the  story  of  their 
prison  life.  Cole  Younger  is  a  changed  man.  I 
found  him  positively  entertaining.  He  converses 
with  a  correctness,  fluency  and  grace  that  are  charm- 
ing. None  of  the  brothers  are  compelled  to  do  very 
much  work ;  they  spend  a  great  deal  of  their  time 
reading  in  their  cells.  Jim  is  reading  law  books  and 
Bob  is  studying  medicine ;  Cole  seems  to  have  devel- 
oped a  theological  turn  of  mind.  These  three  men 
are  great  favorites  in  the  prison — they  are  looked  up 
to  by  their  companions  as  sort  of  demi-gods,  creatures 
immeasurably  above  the  ordinary  inmates  of  the  pen- 
itentiary." 

"  The  most  dreadful  feature  of  their  life,"  said  Col. 
Gaston,  "  is  the  fact  that  though  they  occupy  adjoin- 
ng  cells,  they  are  not  permitted  to  converse  with 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  135 

each  other.  It  is  only  once  a  month  that  they  can 
meet  and  talk  to  one  another,  and  then  only  for  a 
few  moments.  They  told  me  that  they  prayed  earn- 
estly every  night  that  the  month  might  pass  quickly. 
It  was  touching  beyond  expression  .to  hear  Cole 
speak  of  his  early  days.  His  misspent  life  he  charges 
to  the  faults  of  his  early  training.  He  says  he  was 
taught  to  be  ruled  by  his  passions  and  his  passions 
alone.  And  as  he  talked  in  this  vein  the  tears  came 
into  his  eyes  and  I  felt  that  he  was  indeed  a  penitent 
man.  He  inquired  after  his  old  army  friends,  and  I 
told  him  what  I  knew  of  them  and  their  whereabouts. 
In  the  course  of  our  conversation  the  James  Boys 
were  mentioned.  *  Do  you  believe  Jesse  is  dead?' 
I  asked.  Cole  straightened  up,  glanced  quick  as  a 
lightning  flash  at  his  brothers  on  either  side  of  him, 
and  replied,  '  He  is,  if  George  Shepherd  says  he  is.' 
I  asked  him  what  he  meant,  and  he  answered  :  '  There 
are  sometimes  two  things  alike  in  the  world,  and 
Jesse  James  and  George  Shepherd  were  as  near  alike 
as  they  could  be,  in  character,  I  mean.  Both  are  quick, 
nervous  and  brave.  Jesse  was  so  nervous  that  some- 
times he  did  things  rashly/  As  Cole  said  this  he 
leveled  out  his  right  arm  as  if  he  were  aiming  a  pis- 
tol. Instantaneously  it  struck  me  that  he  sought  to 
convey  the  impression  that  it  was  Jesse  James  who 
perpetrated  the  Northfield  bank  murder  in  a  mo- 
ment of  nervous  rashness.  But  the  subject  was 
pursued  no  further.     As  we  left  them  I  felt  that  we 


136  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

were   leaving  the   most  wretched  and   hopeless  of 

--  -  -  » 
men. 

Col.  Gaston  said  that  upon  his  return  from  his  in- 
terview with  the  Youngers,  inspector  Reed  told  him 
the  following,  which  has  never  before  been  made 
public :  "  A  short  time  before  the  Northfield  rob- 
bery," said  the  inspector,  "  I  was  on  my  way  home 
to  St.  Paul  from  a  point  in  Iowa.  I  endeavored  to 
secure  a  Pullman  car  berth,  but  found  that  I  had 
been  preceded  by  two  men  who  had  engaged  eight 
berths — the  only  ones  remaining  in  the  car.  Later, 
however,  I  was  informed  that  I  could  have  one  of 
the  berths,  as  one  of  the  party  had  failed  to  put  in 
an  appearance.  As  I  sat  in  that  car  that  evening  a 
man  wearing  a  slouch  hat  sat  directly  behind  me  ;  in 
the  seat  opposite  him  was  a  man  whom  I  subse- 
quently discovered  was  Cole  Younger.  While  thus 
seated,  a  big,  boisterous  countryman,  accompanied 
by  his  young  lady,  entered  the  car  and  demanded 
my  seat.  '  We've  been  to  a  dance  and  are  tired  ' — 
that  was  his  apology.  I  told  him  that  his  lady  could 
sit  beside  me,  but  I  didn't  propose  to  yield  my  seat 
to  a  man.  As  we  were  arguing,  the  man  in  the 
slouch  hat  came  over  and  said  to  me  quietly,  '  Why 
don't  you  throw  the  d — d  yahoo  out  of  the  win- 
dow?' I  made  no  reply,  whereupon  he  turned  to 
my  persecutor  and  said,  '  Here,  you  d — d  loafer,  if 
you  don't  go  about  your  business  I'll  throw  you  off 
the   train.     You  have   been  dancing  and   enjoying 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  137 

yourself  and  I  guess  you  can  stand  up  awhile.  This 
gentleman  has  a  long  way  to  travel,  he  has  paid  for 
his  seat,  and  by  G — d,  he  shall  keep  it.'  This  was 
quite  enough.  The  big  man  moved  off.  The  next 
day,  when  I  was  in  my  bank,  in  walked  the  two 
strange  men  who  had  secured  the  berths  on  the  car. 
They  asked  for  a  bank  almanac  of  last  year.  I  told 
them  we  had  none  to  spare ;  that  the  almanacs  were 
issued  to  banks  alone  and  were  really  invaluable. 
Then  they  asked  if  they  could  borrow  an  almanac  of 
the  previous  year,  and  I  said  yes,  if  they  would  be 
sure  to  return  it.  As  I  passed  it  over  the  counter 
the  man  in  the  slouch  hat  pushed  a  ten  dollar  bill  to- 
ward me.  *  Take  this/  said  he,  '  so  you  will  be  com- 
pensated if  we  should  fail  to  return  the  book/  I  re- 
minded him  he  had  promised  to  return  the  book — 
that  it  was  part  of  a  file  and  could  not  be  spared. 
He  insisted,  however,  that  I  should  retain  the  money, 
because  something  might  occur  preventing  the  re- 
turn of  the  almanac.  Well,  the  book  never  came 
back.  Three  days  later  the  Northfield  Bank  was 
robbed,  and  shortly  afterward  I  identified  Cole 
Younger  as  one  of  the  two  men  who  had  taken 
the  almanac  from  me.  From  the  descriptions  I 
have  read  and  the  pictures  I  have  seen  of  the  men, 
I  am  satisfied  that  the  other  man,  the  man  with  the 
slouched  hat,  the  one  who  came  to  my  rescue  on 
the  train,  was  the  notorious  outlaw,  Jesse  James." 


138  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

ANECDOTES  OF  JESSE  AND  FRANK 
JAMES. 

Sometimes  incidents,  in  themselves  trivial,  serve 
to  reveal  the  character  of  persons  connected  with 
them  better  than  those  actions  which  are  esteemed 
as  more  important.  The  James  Boys  are  robbers, 
but  nevertheless  they  are  still  capable  of  generous 
actions.  It  may  be  that  the  remembrance  of  former 
days  sometimes  disposes  their  minds  to  the  contem- 
plation of  the  true,  the  beautiful  and  the  good  in 
humanity.  Jesse  James  was  once  baptized,  and  be- 
came a  member  of  a  Baptist  church  in  Clay  county, 
Missouri,  and  it  is  said  that  for  a  considerable  time 
before  the  war,  his  conduct  was  exemplary  in  the 
highest  degree.  But  he  has  since  sadly  fallen  from 
grace. 


Some  years  ago  a  tenant  on  the  Samuels  farm  had 
a  difficulty  with  the  mother  of  Jesse  and  Frank.  In 
the  heat  of  passion  he  denounced  the  old  lady  as  a 
liar.  Jesse  heard  of  the  affair,  and,  as  he  always  ex- 
hibited the  warmest  affection  for  his  mother,  those 
who  knew  of  the  circumstance  fully  expected  that 
the  tenant  would  be  called  to  account  in  the  usual 
way  by  Jesse  James.  One  day  the  offending  tenant 
was  engaged  in  some  domestic  labor  near  his  home 
and  adjacent  to  a  corn-field,  when  suddenly  there  was 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  139 

a  rustling  of  the  dry  corn-blades  and  the  next  in- 
stant the  dreaded  outlaw  leaped  his  horse  over  the 
fence  and  dashed  up  to  the  affrighted  citizen  with  a 
heavy  revolver  ready  cocked  in  his  hand.  "  I  have 
come  to  kill  you !"  he  said,  at  the  same  time  making 
an  ominous  motion  with  the  pistol.  "  Did  you  not 
know  better  than  to  call  my  mother  a  liar?  Now,  if 
you  want  to  make  your  peace  with  God,  you  had 
better  be  at  it."  The  poor  man  dropped  upon  his 
knees  and  began  to  pray.  As  he  proceeded,  he  be- 
came more  and  more  fervent.  He  asked  God  to  par- 
don his  transgressions  and  have  mercy  upon  him.  Then 
he  commended  his  loved  ones  to  the  protecting  care 
of  that  Beneficent  Being  to  whom  alone  they  could 
look,  now  that  he  was  so  soon  to  be  taken  away 
from  them.  The  prayer  had  become  pathetic  in  its 
earnestness.  As  the  man  proceeded,  the  hard  lines 
in  Jesse  James*  features  relaxed,  a  shade  of  sadness 
stole  over  his  countenance,  the  muzzle  of  the  pistol 
was  unconsciously  lowered,  and  when  the  poor  fright- 
ened farmer  had  finished,  the  look  of  stern  resolve 
was  all  gone,  and  the  outlaw's  pistol  had  been  sheath- 
ed. "I  cannot  kill  you  thus,"  he  said,  "but  you 
must  leave  the  country,"  and  Jesse  James  wheeled 
his  horse  and  disappeared  as  he  had  come. 

,  What  tender  reminjscences  may  have  come  to  Jesse 
James  then?  Who  can  tell?  The  farmer  settled  up 
his  affairs  and  departed  from  the  country  soon  after- 
ward. His  prayer  had  prevailed  with  Jesse,  and  he 
was  spared  to  his  loved  ones. 


140  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

The  following  anecdote  illustrates  a  trait  promi- 
nently developed  in  the  character  of  the  outlaws — 
that  is,  their  willingness  to  make  personal  sacrifices 
to  serve  anyone  whom  they  regard  in  a  friendly  light. 

It  was  during  the  war.  Col.  J.  H.  R.  Cundiff,  now 
editor  of  the  St.  Louis  Times,  had  been  in  North 
Missouri  on  recruiting  service  for  the  Confederate 
army.  The  whole  country  was  overrun  by  Federal 
soldiers,  and  the  situation  of  the  recruiting  officers 
in  that  region  was  perilous.  One  night  Col.  Cundiff 
and  several  officers  visited  the  house  of  Mr.  Bivens, 
in  Clay  county,  to  obtain  food  and  secure  a  trusty 
guide  to  pilot  them  out  of  that  region.  They  learned 
that  a  man  who  resided  some  miles  away  was 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  by-ways  of  the  coun- 
try, and  could  be  relied  upon  in  such  an  emergency. 
Among  all  the  men  present  not  one  knew  the  way  to 
the  house  of  the  person  whose  services  were  sought. 
Miss  Bivens,  a  beautiful  and  accomplished  young 
lady,  at  length  offered  to  venture  through  the 
darkness  and  find  the  guide.  Frank  James  was 
there,  and  spoke  up,  "  Oh,  no,  that  is  not  necessary. 
Just  get  on  my  horse  behind  me,  and  I  will  take  you 
there."  The  lady,  who  was  at  that  time  very  fond 
of  the  society  of  the  guerrilla,  trusted  herself  with 
him,  and  mounting  on  the  horse  behind  him  they  rode 
away  into  the  night,  she  indicating  to  him  the  route 
to  be  taken.  Though  the  roads  were  guarded  by 
Federals,  the  gauntlet  of  pickets  was  successfully  run, 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  141 

and  the  guide  was  secured.  In  those  days  Frank  and 
Jesse  James  were  esteemed  as  chivalrous  gentlemen, 
and  fit  guardians  of  female  honor.  Col.  Cundiffand 
his  fellow  officers  were  enabled  to  effect  a  change  of 
base  in  c  jmparative  security,  by  the  chivalrous  ser- 
vices rendered  by  Frank  James. 


A  story  is  told  of  Jesse,  which  shows  that  he  is 
not  impervious  to  the  appeals  of  the  suffering.  One 
day  he  was  riding  in  a  sparsely  settled  region  in  west- 
ern Texas.  Passing  through  a  belt  of  timber  along 
a  stream,  he  came  to  the  camping  place  of  an  emi- 
grant family.  There  a  most  distressing  spectacle  pre- 
sented itself.  The  "movers"  were  people  in  indi- 
gent circumstances,  evidently.  The  old  blind  horse 
and  poor  mule  which  had  drawn  the  rickety  wagon 
seemed  as  if  their  days  of  toil  were  about  numbered. 
The  man  who  had  driven  them  had  died  there  under 
a  tree  two  days  before  ;  the  woman  was  extended  on 
the  earth,  almost  in  the  agonies  of  death,  and  three 
children,  the  eldest  not  more  than  nine  years  of  age, 
were  crouched  around,  wailing  piteously  for  some- 
thing to  stay  the  ravages  of  hunger. 

Jesse  saw  the  miserable  condition  of  the  unfor- 
tunate emigrant  family.  He  at  once  dismounted, 
examined  the  poor  sick  woman,  administered  to  her 
necessities  as  best  he  could,  and  also  gave  the  chil- 
dren something  to  eat  from  his  own  small  store  of 
supplies.     He  then  bid  the  woman  be  of  good  cheer, 


142  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

promised  to  come  again  before  night,  mounted  his 
horse  and  galloped  away  in  search  of  assistance. 
Ten  miles  from  the  camp  he  found  a  physician,  and 
two  miles  further  he  found  a  coffin-maker.  The  first 
he  sent  to  the  lonely  camp  by  the  stream,  the  other 
he  set  to  work  to  make  a  coffin.  Then  he  found  a 
man  with  a  spring  wagon  and  engaged  his  services. 
With  a  supply  of  things  of  present  necessity,  he 
turned  once  more  toward  the  camp.  Arrived  there 
he  prepared  the  food  and  made  the  coffee  himself 
for  the  unfortunate  family.  The  physician  came  and 
prescribed  for  the  sick  lady.  The  undertaker 
brought  the  coffin,  and  the  owner  of  the  spring 
wagon  came  to  remove  the  bereaved  woman  and  her 
little  ones  to  a  place  of  shelter.  The  stranger  was 
buried — where  ? — in  an  untimely  tomb. 

11  No  human  hands  with  pious  reverence  rear'd, 
But  the  charmed  eddies  of  autumnal  winds, 
Built  o'er  his  mouldering  bones  a  pyramid 
Of  mouldering  leaves  in  the  waste  wilderness." 

The  bereaved  one  and  her  orphaned  children 
were  carried  to  the  house  of  a  pioneer  some  miles 
away,  and  every  want  was  bountifully  provided  for, 
and  in  a  pleasant  farm-house  she  and  her  children 
call  their  own  home,  she  blesses  the  outlaw,  and 
prays  that  he  may  be  kept  from  harm,  and  that  he 
mav  be  led  aright  at  last. 


They  tell  a  story  of  Frank  James  which  illustrates 
one  peculiar  trait  of  the  outlaw's  character — that  is, 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  143 

his  gallantry  and  knightly  devotion  to  the  honor  of 
the  fair  sex.  It  happened  in  Kentucky.  There  was 
a  young  lady  resident  in  a  neighborhood  where 
Frank  James  was  a  visitor,  who  had  become  the  vic- 
tim of  the  persecutions  of  a  certain  fellow  whose  ad- 
dresses she  had  refused.  On  every  possible  occa- 
sion this  low-bred  person  sought  to  mortify  and  in- 
sult the  young  lady,  who  was  unfortunate  in  not  hav- 
ing any  near  male  relatives  to  champion  her  cause. 
One  evening,  at  a  social  entertainment,  the  neigh- 
borhood coxcomb  and  instinctive  ruffian  approached 
the  young  lady  in  a  very  rude  and  offensive  manner, 
just  at  the  time  when  she  was  engaged  in  conversa- 
tion with  Frank  James,  who  had  been  only  a  few 
minutes  before  presented  to  her.  Without  appar- 
ently noticing  the  insolence  of  the  person,  Frank 
suggested  a  promenade,  and  the  young  lady  took  his 
arm,  and  they  walked  away.  In  no  long  time  they 
met  the  rude  fellow  again,  and  he  took  special  pains 
to  mortify  the  young  lady,  and  threw  out  a  gratui- 
tous insult  to  her  escort.  Very  politely  Frank  begged 
the  lady  to  release  him  for  a  moment,  and  he  fol- 
lowed the  coxcomb.  Coming  up  with  him,  he  qui- 
etly requested  him  to  step  aside  for  a  moment.  The 
fellow  treated  the  request'  with  contempt,  and  added 
insult  to  injury.  Without  the  least  show  of  passion, 
Frank  rejoined  the  lady  and  conducted  her  to  her 
friends.  He  then  calmly  awaited  his  opportunity. 
It  came  that  same  evening.     Some  persons  present 


144  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

knew  the  desperate  character  of  Frank  James,  and 
had  told  the  fellow  he  was  in  danger.  The  fellow 
attempted  quietly  to  withdraw  from  the  company, 
but  he  could  not  effect  his  purpose.  Frank  James 
had  his  attention  fixed  upon  the  ill-mannered  man. 
When  he  had  gone  away  from  the  house  some  dis- 
tance, Frank  arrested  his  progress.  He  had  a  pistol 
drawn,  which  he  presented.  "  You  deserve  to  die," 
said  Frank  James  in  a  low,  quiet  tone,  "  but  on  one 
condition  I  will  spare  you,  under  the  circumstances. 
Will  you  comply  ?"  "  Name  your  conditions !  "  re- 
sponded the  other,  now  thoroughly  frightened 
u  These : "  said  Frank  James,  "  You  must  write  a 
note  to  the  lady,  abjectly  apologizing  for  your  con- 
duct. It  must  be  done  before  ten  o'clock  to-mor- 
row, and  you  must  leave  the  country  within  five  days, 
and  never  return.  If  the  letter  does  not  reach  the 
lady  by  noon  to-morrow,  I  will  hunt  you  until  I  find 
you,  and  then  as  sure  as  there  is  a  God  in  heaven  I 
will  kill  you.  If  after  five  days  you  are  found  in  this 
country,  I  will  shoot  you.  Remember  what  I  say !  " 
The  man  promised  compliance,  and  Frank  James  re- 
turned to  the  merry-makers,  and  no  one  who  saw  him 
suspected  that  the  quiet  gentleman  had  thoughts  of 
bloodshed  in  his  mind.  The  letter  came,  and  in 
three  days  the  neighborhood  fop  had  disappeared. 


/ESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  14$ 

BASSHAM'S  CONFESSION  OF  THE 
GLENDALE  ROBBERY. 

The  robbery  of  the  Chicago  and  Alton  train  at 
Glendale,  Missouri,  as  already  described,  has  been 
surrounded  with  considerable  mystery,  concerning 
the   identity  of  all  those   engaged  in  the  outrage. 

The  large  rewards  offered  for  the  apprehension  of 
the  robber-band, — amounting  to  #75,000 — caused  a 
very  active  search,  which  resulted,  at  last,  in  the 
capture  of  Daniel  (better  known  as  Tucker)  Bass- 
ham,  under  circumstances  already  related  on  page 
ninety-nine.  The  writer  visited  Bassham  at  the 
county  jail  in  Kansas  City,  in  October,  1880,  for  the 
purpose  of  interviewing  him,  with  the  hope  of  ob- 
taining some  interesting  facts  concerning  the  rob- 
bery, but  though  he  had  made  a  written  confession, 
he  refused  to  talk  on  the  subject,  saying  that  he  had 
already  told  too  much  for  his  own  good. 

On  the  6th  day  of  November,  Bassham  was 
brought  into  court  for  trial,  having  entered  a  plea  of 
"  not  guilty,"  despite  his  confession,  but  this  plea 
was  soon  changed  to  that  of  "  guilty,"  and  he  then 
threw  himself  upon  the  mercy  of  the  court.  The 
following  summary  of  his  confession  appeared  in  the 
Kansas  City  Journal  of  November  7th : 

11  On  Monday  night  preceding  the  robbery,'    said  Bass- 
ham in  his  confession,  "  two  neighbors  of  mine  came  to  me 
and  said  they  had  put  up  a  job  to  rob  a  train,  and  wanted 
me  to  go  in  with  them.     I  told  them  I  didn't  want  nothin' 
2€ 


146  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

to  do  with  robbin'  no  train,  and  wouldn't  have  nothin'  to  do 
with  it  nohow ;  but  they  kept  on  persuadin'  and  f.nally  went 
away,  sayin'  they  would  come  back  in  the  morning  and  that 
I  must  go  with  them.  They  said  a  very  rich  train  was 
coming  down  on  the  C.  &  A.,  and  that  we  could  make  a 
big  haul,  perhaps  $100,000.  Wa'al,  that  kind  o'  half  per- 
suaded me,  but  still  I  didn't  like  to  go.  They  finally  told 
me  that  Jesse  James  was  arrangin'  the  thing  and  that  it  was 
sure  to  be  a  success. 

"  Wa'al,  then  they  left,  My  wife  kept  pesterin'  me  to 
know  what  was  goin'  on  an'  what  they  wanted,  but  I  didn't 
like  ter  let  on.  I  kept  thinking  about  it  all  night.  Of 
course  I'd  heerd  often  of  Jesse  James  and  kinder  had  con- 
fidence in  him,  then  I  was  pretty  poor,  there  wasn't  much 
crops  on  my  place  and  winter  comin'  on,  and  I  tell  you  it 
looked  pretty  nice* to  get  a  little  money  just  then,  no  matter 
whar  it  kum  from.  'Sides  I  thought  to  myself,  ef  I  don't 
go  it'll  be  done  jest  the  same  anyhow,  they'll  be  down  on 
me  and  ten  to  one  I'll  be  more  likely  to  git  arrested  if  I 
ain't  thar  as  if  I  am. 

"  Wa'al,  I  kep'  kinder  thinkin'  it  over  an'  in  the  morning 
they  came  to  the  house  early  and  eat  breakfast,  and  then 
went  out  and  loafed  around  the  timber  and  in  the  cornfield 
all  day  so  nobody  wouldn't  see  'em.  In  the  evenin'  they 
all  cum  in  and  we  eat  supper  and  then  they  giv'  me  a  pis- 
tol, an'  we  all  got  on  our  horses  an'  rode  off  together.  We 
soon  met  another  man  on  the  road,  an'  when  we  got  to 
Seaver's  school-house,  'bout  a  mile  and  a  half  away  from 
my  house,  they  giv  a  kind  of  a  whistle  for  a  signal,  and  two 
men  came  out  of  the  timber  an'  rode  up.  I  was  introduced 
to  one  of  them  as  Jesse  James.  This  was  the  first  time  I 
had  ever  seen  Jesse  James  in  my  life." 

"  And  who  was  the  other  ?  "  demanded  the  prosecutor. 

44  The  other  was  Ed.  Miller,  of  Clay  county." 

Bassham  said  that  Jesse  James  then  gave  him  a  shot-gun 
and  furnished  each  man  with  a  mask,  and  that  they  all  then 
rode  on  in  silence  toward  Glendale.  No  instructions  were 
given  to  any  one  man.     When  they  arrived  at  Glendale 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  147 

they  noticed  the  light  in  the  store,  and  Bassham  was  order- 
ed by  Jesse  James  to  go  in,  capture  the  inmates  and  bring 
them  over  to  the  station.  On  looking  in  the  windows  he 
found  the  usual  crowd  of  loiterers  had  left  the  store  and 
lounged  over  to  the  depot  to  wait  for  the  train  to  come  in. 
He  then  went  on  over  to  the  depot  and  found  the  crowd  in 
the  waiting-room  guarded  by  one  of  the  men.  Jesse  James 
then  told  him  to  walk  up  and  down  the  platform,  as  the 
train  approached,  and  fire  off  his  shot-gun  in  the  air  as  fast 
as  he  could.  The  telegraph  operator  was  forced,  at  the 
point  of  the  pistol,  to  lower  the  green  light  and  thus  signal 
the  train  to  stop.  Jesse  James  then  asked  him  if  there 
were  any  loose  ties  there  that  they  could  lay  across  the 
track,  and  he  said  he  didn't  know  of  any.  The  men  then 
went  and  got  logs  and  laid  them  across  the  track  to  ob- 
struct the  train  if  it  should  take  the  alarm  and  not  stop  for 
the  green  light.  Meanwhile  the  train  approached ;  Bass- 
ham  walked  up  and  down  the  platform  firing  off  his  gun ; 
Jesse  James  and  one  of  the  men  jumped  into  the  express 
car,  and  Miller  jumped  on  the  engine  in  the  manner  already 
described  and  with  which  all  are  familiar.  The  train  was 
not  stopped  more  than  five  or  six  minutes. 

As  soon  as  it  was  over,  Jesse  James  fired  off  his  pistol, 
which  was  the  signal  for  all  to  leave,  and  they  jumped  on 
their  horses  and  rode  rapidly  for  about  half  a  mile,  till  they 
came  to  a  deserted  log-cabin.  Here  they  alighted  and  en- 
tered. Somebody  produced  a  small  pocket-lantern  and 
somebody  else  struck  a  match.  Jesse  James  threw  the 
booty  down  on  a  rude  table  in  the  middle  of  the  compart- 
ment, divided  it  out,  and  shoved  each  man  a  pile  as  they 
stood  round  the  table.  Bassham's  share  was  between  $800 
and  $900.  Jesse  then  said :  "  Now,  each  one  of  you  fel- 
lows go  home  and  stay  there.  Go  to  work  in  the  morning, 
and  keep  your  mouths  shut,  and  nobody  will  ever  be  the 
wiser.  This  country  will  be  full  of  men  in  the  morning 
hunting  for  me  and  you." 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  confession,  as  re- 


148  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

| 

ported,  only  the  names  of  Jesse  James  and  Ed.  Mil- 
ler appear,  when  it  is  now  positively  known  that  the 
gang  comprised  not  less  than  six  persons.  The  con- 
fession implicated  two  of  the  most  respectable  farm- 
ers in  Jackson  county,  Kit  Rose  and  Dick  Tally,  one  a 
brother-in-law  and  the  other  a  cousin  of  the  Younger 
brothers,  both  of  whom  were  arrested,  but  soon  after- 
ward released,  as  not  a  scintilla  of  evidence  could  be 
discovered  corroborating  Bassham's  disjointed  state- 
ments. The  other  party,  who  Bassham  swears  was 
connected  with  the  robbery  (and  in  this  he  certainly 
guessed  rightly),  was  Jim  Cummings,  who  shot 
George  Shepherd  in  the  affair  at  Short  Creek. 

In  November  last  (1880),  Bassham  was  brought 
into  court  with  a  plea  of  "  not  guilty,"  notwithstand- 
ing his  confession,  but  he  had  so  completely  con- 
victed himself  that  the  plea  was  withdrawn,  and  he 
threw  himself  upon  the  mercy  of  the  court.  He  was 
then  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  for  a  period  of  ten 
years.  Since  his  confinement  at  Jefferson  City,  there 
has  been  a  considerable  change  of  opinion  respecting 
his  guilt,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  now  a  large 
majority  of  persons  believe  Bassham  innocent  of  any 
complicity  with  the  train  robbery,  and  that  his  so- 
called  confession  was  the  result  of  influences  which 
the  writer  does  not  wish  to  assume  the  responsibility 
of  naming. 


The  James  Boys  Heard  From  Again. 


THE  TRAIN  ROBBERY  AT  WINSTON,  MO., 
JULY  15,  1881. 

FIFTY  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  REWARD  OFFERED  FOR  THE 
ARREST  OF  THE  GUILTY  PARTIES. 

The  Border  Outlaws,  those  whose  crimes  began 
with  the  hot  and  infectious  breath  of  war  and  left  a 
bloody  trail  around  Jackson,  Clay  and  Harrison 
counties,  Missouri,  still  survive  to  wreak  a  desperate 
vengeance,  and  live  by  tributes  levied  upon  corpora- 
tions and  individuals.  Many  of  the  old  band,  it  is  true, 
have  been  palsied  by  death,  dying,  belted  and  armed, 
by  a  fate  anticipated,  but  like  the  excision  of  a  can- 
cer, the  germs  have  remained  from  which  a  new 
growth  has  constantly  developed  to  harass  the  State 
and  disorder  society. 

The  James  boys,  aside  from  their  reckless  courage, 
are  possessed  of  extraordinary  capabilities,  cunning 
resource,  domineering  resolution,  woods-craft  and 
dash.  As  if  by  a  thorough  consideration  of  the  ben- 
eficial  result  to  be  secured  thereby,  they  first  terror- 
ized the  people  of  Western  Missouri,  and  then  hero- 
ized  themselves  in  the  eyes  of  those  whose  political 
sympathies  were  in  consonance  with  their  own. 
Thus  upon  the  one  side  the  people  were  afraid  to  at- 
tempt any  punishment  of  the  outlaws  or  give  infor- 
149 


150  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

mation  of  their  rendezvous ;  while  upon  the  other 
they  were  protected  and  encouraged  without  con- 
cealment. It  is  for  these  reasons  that  the  James 
boys  and  their  confreres  have  eluded  every  pursuit 
and  been  able  to  give  free  license  to  their  impious 
passions. 

There  are  peculiar  features,  however,  connected 
with  every  outrage  perpetrated  by  the  James  gang 
which  readily  manifest  them  in  the  deed.  Among 
these  several  distinguishing  features  are  :  their  ap- 
pearance in  the  vicinity  where  the  robbery  occurs 
some  days  before  its  accomplishment;  the  thorough 
maturity  of  their  plans ;  the  wearing  of  long  linen 
dusters;  unhesitating  disposition  to  commit  murder; 
a  splendid  mount;  the  invariable  sack  carried  in 
which  to  deposit  the  plunder;  the  line  of  retreat  al- 
ways southward  when  the  robbery  has  been  commit- 
ted north  of  Clay  county,  and  vice  versa  ;  masks  of 
red  handkerchiefs,  and  the  ease  with  which  pursuit 
is  eluded.  In  addition  to  these  unmistakable  pecu- 
liarities, another  fact  is  particularly  noticeable,  viz : 
within  twenty-four  hours  after  the  James  boys  com- 
mit a  robbery,  Mrs.  Samuels,  their  mother,  never 
fails  to  make  her  appearance  in  Kansas  City,  the 
purpose  of  these  visits  being  undoubtedly  to  discover 
what  means  are  employed  looking  to  the  apprehen- 
sion of  the  gang,  and  gather  up  any  and  all  such  in- 
formation as  might  prove  serviceable  in  aiding  the 
escape  of  her  sons. 

Considering  well  all  these  points  of  evidence,  any 
shrewd  analyzer  of  human  nature  can  readily  deter- 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  151 

mine  whether  or  not  either  of  the  James  boys  was 
connected  with  any  robbery  reported. 

On  the  night  of  July  15th,  1881,  an  outward  going 
passenger  train  from  Kansas  City  over  the  Chicago, 
Rock  Island  &  Pacific  Railroad  was  robbed  at  Wins- 
ton Station,  Daviess  county,  Missouri,  under  the  fol- 
lowing circumstances  :  The  train  left  Kansas  City  at 
6:30  p.  m.,  in  charge  of  William  Westfall,  the  con- 
ductor ;  Wolcott,  the  engineer,  and  Charlie  Murray, 
express  messenger.  The  train  consisted  of  six  coach- 
es and  a  sleeper,  all  of  which  were  well  filled  with 
passengers.  Reaching  Cameron,  a  stop  was  made 
for  supper,  and  when  the  train  started  off  two  men 
were  observed  to  jump  on,  each  of  whom  wore  a  large 
red  bandana  handkerchief  around  his  neck,  partly 
concealing  his  features.  Nothing  indicative  of  the 
robbers'  intentions,  however,  transpired  until  the 
train  reached  Winston,  at  9:30  p.  m.,  at  which  station 
four  men  took  passage,  each  having  his  face  covered 
with  a  handkerchief  identical  with  those  worn  by  the 
two  that  got  on  at  Cameron,  and  all  wearing  long 
linen  dusters.  Getting  under  headway  again,  the 
train  had  proceeded  nearly  one  mile  from  Winston 
when  suddenly,  as  Conductor  Westfall  appeared  in 
the  second  car  to  collect  tickets,  the  passengers  were 
startled  by  the  largest  of  the  robbers  rising  from  his 
seat  and  shouting  out  in  a  loud  voice,  "All  aboard  !" 
which  was  the  signal  for  action.  The  large  man, 
heavily  masked  with  a  red  handkerchief,  as  were  all 
the  others,  seven  in  number,  thrust  out  a  large  pis- 
tol, and   saying   to  Westfall,  "  You    are  the    man  I 


152 


THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 


want,"  fired.  The  ball  struck  Westfall  in  the  arm, 
producing  only  a  flesh  wound,  but  as  the  wounded 
man  turned  to  run   out   of  the  car   two  more  shots 


DEATH  OF  CONDUCTOR  WESTFALL. 

were  fired  by  the  same  robber  without  effect.  This 
bad  shooting  seemed  to  exasperate  another  one  of 
the  outlaws,  who  gave  an  exhibition  of  his  skill  by 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  1 5  3 

shooting  Westfall  in  the  brain,  killing  him  instantly, 
the  body  falling  off  the  platform  onto  the  ground. 

While  this  unprovoked  murder  was  being  perpe- 
trated three  others  of  the  outlaw  gang  rushed  through 
the  cars  toward  the  engine.  Wild  confusion  follow- 
ed, and  a  stone  mason  named  J.McCulloch,  from 
Iowa,  who  had  been  working  near  Winston,  attempt- 
ed to  get  out  of  the  baggage  car  as  the  robbers  en- 
tered it.  Suspecting  that  he  was  either  the  engineer 
or  intent  upon  raising  an  alarm,  one  of  the  outlaws 
shot  him  dead  and  pushed  his  body  off  the  train, 
which  had  now  come  to  a  stop. 

The  robbers  then  went  about  their  business  of 
robbing,  two  mounting  the  engine,  three  were  left  to 
guard  the  passengers,  while  the  remaining  two  made 
for  the  express  car.  Mr.  Murray,  the  express  agent, 
hearing  firing  and  suspecting  the  real  cause,  made 
a  hasty  attempt  to  close  and  lock  the  doors  of  his 
car,  which  had  been  left  open,  owing  to  the  oppres- 
sively warm  weather,  but  while  he  was  thus  engaged 
one  of  the  robbers  jumped  through  the  partly  closed 
door  and  grabbing  Murray,  struck  him  a  violent  blow 
on  the  head  with  his  pistol,  at  the  same  time  saying, 
"  Open  up,  d — n  you,  or  I  '11  kill  you  !"  Looking  into 
the  muzzles  of  two  large  pistols,  Murray  was  forced 
to  comply,  and  delivered  up  the  safe  keys.  The 
treasure  box  was  quickly  opened  and  its  contents  ex- 
tracted, consisting  of  coin  and  currency  to  the 
amount  of  $8,000  or  $10,000,  which  was  thrown  into 
a  sack  the  outlaws  carried  for  the  purpose.  The 
train  was  then  started  up  by  one  of  the  robbers,  but 


154 


THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 


after"  proceeding  a  few  hundred  yards  stopped  again 
and  the  bold  free-booters  jumped  off,  running  for 
their  horses  which  were  tied  in  a  clump  of  trees  less 


THE  SHOOTING  OF  J.  MC  CULLOCH. 


than  one  hundred  yards  from  the  track.  They  did 
not  take  the  time  to  untie  their  horses,  but  cut  the 
reins,  and  mounting,  rode  in  a  half  circuit  around 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  155 

Cameron,  then  took  a  course  almost  due  south.  They 
crossed  the  Missouri  river  near  Sibley's  Landing,  in 
couples,  having  divided  up  immediately  after  the 
robbery  was  consummated. 

On  the  morning  following  the  robbery,  an  exam- 
ination of  the  immediate  vicinity  about  where  the 
train  was  stopped,  resulted  in  finding  where  the  rob- 
bers had  tied  their  horses,  and  there,  lying  on  the 
ground,  was  found  the  following  letter : 

Kansas  City,  July  12. 
Charlie — I  got  your  letter  to-day,  and  was  glad 
to  hear  that  you  had  got  everything  ready  in  time 
for  the  15th.  We  will  be  on  hand  at  that  time.  Bill 
will  be  with  us.  We  will  be  on  the  train;  don't  fear. 
We  will  be  in  the  smoker  at  Winston.  Have  the 
horses  and  boys  in  good  fix  for  fast  work.  We  will 
make  this  point  again  on  the  night  of  the  16th.  All 
is  right  here.  Frank  will  meet  us  at  Cameron.  Look 
sharp  and  be  well  fixed.  Have  the  horses  well 
gaunted,  for  we  may  have  some  running  to  do.  Don't 
get  excited,  but  keep  cool  till  right  time.  Wilcox  or 
Wolcott  will  be  on  the  engine.  I  think  best  to  send 
this  to  Kidder.     Yours  time  and  through  death. 

Slick. 

After  receiving  the  first  particulars  of  the  robbery 
by  telegraph,  I  went  to  Kansas  City,  and  from  thence 
to  various  points  in  the  vicinity,  for  the  purpose  of 
prosecuting  an  investigation  with  the  view  of  discov- 
ering, if  possible,  who  the  outlaws  were,  where  they 
came  from,  whither  they  went,  and  how  the  authori- 
ties prosecuted  the  pursuit.  From  these  efforts 
I    am   prepared   to    state,  with  circumstantial  posi- 


156  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

tiveness,  that  Frank  James  and  Jim  Cummings 
were  the  parties  who  planned,  and  with  the  aid 
of  their  confreres,  executed  the  robbery  at  Winston, 
and  that  the  proof  may  not  be  wanting,  the  follow- 
ing several  facts  are  recited : 

A  few  weeks  ago  I  received  a  letter  from  Frank 
James,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  a  copy  of  "  Bor- 
der Outlaws,"  which  I  sent  to  him  by  a  relative. 
Shortly  after  its  receipt,  this  same  relative,  who  is 
known  to  be  in  communication  with  Frank  James, 
visited  St.  Louis  and  confidentially  conferred  with  my 
publisher  upon  the  advantages  which  we  might  mu- 
tually reap  by  a  sudden  stimulation  in  the  sale  of 
"  Border  Outlaws,"  for  which  he  was  then  acting  as 
agent.  His  proposition  embraced  a  statement  that 
Frank  James  and  Jim  Cummings  were  at  that  time  in 
Missouri  planning  a  campaign;  that  a  large  robbery 
would  soon  be  consummated,  attended  with  some 
startling  results.  All  these  facts  he  agreed  to  furnish 
us  the  very  moment  the  robbery  should  be  com- 
pleted, comprising  the  names  of  those  engaged,  how 
they  had  organized,  where  assembled,  cause  for  their 
acts,  etc.,  provided  my  publisher  would  give  him  a 
certain  sum  of  money.  The  incentive  on  our  part  to 
comply  with  his  proposition  was  in  securing  this  re- 
liable information,  which  might  be  added  as  an  ap- 
pendix to  a  new  edition  of  "  Border  Outlaws,"  and 
issued  contemporaneously  with  the  first  newspaper 
reports,  thereby  creating  a  largely  increased  demand 
for  the  book.  Of  course  there  appeared  so  much 
doubt  involved  in  this  singular  proffer,  and  the  propo- 


/ESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  157 

sition  within  itself  being  of  such  questionable  char- 
acter, that  it  was  rejected  with  little  consideration  of 
the  probability  of  a  robbery  such  as  was  declared 
about  to  take  place.  At  this  time,  however,  the  as- 
sertions then  made  assume  an  interest  which  throws 
much  light  upon  the  problem,  "  Who  committed  the 
robbery?  " 

But  this  is  not  all  the  evidence  I  am  in  possession 
of  respecting  this  latest  adventure  of  the  old  gang. 
In  pursuing  my  investigations  I  visited  Olathe,  Kas., 
twenty  miles  south  of  Kansas  City,  and  there  found 
a  gentleman  well  known  in  that  town,  who  had  met 
Frank  James  walking  on  the  south  side  of  Olathe's 
public  square,  well-armed,  on  the  10th  inst.,  or  only 
five  days  before  the  robbery  occurred.  It  was  not  a 
mistaken  identity,  for  the  gentleman  in  question  was 
raised  within  four  miles  of  the  present  residence  of 
the  James  boys'  parents,  and  was  for  years  upon 
terms  of  the  greatest  social  intimacy  with  them,  at- 
tending the  same  school,  participating  in  the  same 
sports,  and  in  later  years  meeting  with  them  as  old 
acquaintances.  Being  well  acquainted  myself  in 
Olathe,  I  can  positively  state  that  this  information 
regarding  the  presence  of  Frank  James  in  the  town 
referred  to  is  true  beyond  all  doubt.  But  what  his 
business  was  or  when  he  left,  I  could  not  ascertain. 

Within  eighteen  hours  after  the  robbery,  Mrs.  Sam- 
uels appeared  in  Kansas  Gity,  evidently  for  the  pur- 
pose of  collecting  such  information  as  might  be  use- 
ful to  Frank  James  and  his  confederates.  She  talked 
freely  of  the  robbery,  but   protested,  with  repeated 


158  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

declarations,  that  both  Frank  and  Jesse  were  dead, 
going  so  far  in  her  assertions  as  to  say  that  Frank 
died  three  years  ago  of  consumption,  in  Texas.  What 
she  hoped  to  gain  by  a  claim  so  easily  disproved  it 
is  difficult  to  conjecture. 

From  the  best  evidence  attainable,  the  gang  who 
robbed  the  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  train,  among 
whom  were  Frank  James,  Ed.  Miller,  Jim  Cummings 
and  Dick  Little,  after  leaving  the  train,  mounted  their 
horses  and  rode  southwestwardly  until  they  reached 
the  outskirts  of  Cameron,  when  they  turned  and  took 
to  the  brush  again,  making  directly  for  the  Missouri 
river,  which  they  crossed  near  Sibley's  landing, 
and  on  the  following  evening,  the  16th,  they  cer- 
tainly .  passed  through  Sni-a-bar  township  of  Jack- 
son county,  and,  taking  a  southwestwardly  course, 
continued  on  to  the  Indian  Territory.  The  party, 
however,  did  not  remain  intact,  but  divided  up 
into  couples,  so  as  to  destroy  the  trail  which  so 
large  a  number  as  seven  riders  would  have  made  con- 
spicuous. They  were  at  no  time  so  far  apart,  though, 
but  that  a  prearranged  signal  would  have  concen- 
trated the  outlaws. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  with  all  the  atrocious 
crimes  credited  to  the  James  boys  and  their  confed- 
erates, there  was  not  so  much  as  one  dollar  of  re- 
ward offered  at  the  time  of  the  Winston  robbery, 
although  atone  time  the  rewards  offered  by  the  State 
and  railroa4  and  express  companies  aggregated  $?$,- 
OOO.  During  Gov.  Hardin's  administration  nearly 
all  the  rewards  offered  by  the  State  were  withdrawn, 


JESSE  AND  FRANK  JAMES.  159 

then  the  private  corporations  that  had  suffered  so 
seriously  at  the  hands  of  the  bold  knights  of  the 
road  withdrew  the  incentives  they  had  advertised, 
after  which  Gov.  Phelps  wiped  out  the  few  figures 
remaining. 

On  the  26th  of  July,  eleven  days  after  the  train 
robbery  at  Winston,  Governor  Crittenden  visited  St. 
Louis  and  called  a  meeting  of  leading  railroad  offi- 
cials in  the  gentlemen's  parlor  of  the  Southern  Hotel. 
The  call  was  responded  to  by  representatives  from 
nearly  all  the  principal  roads  running  into  Kansas 
City  and  St.  Louis,  and  upon  assembling  plans  were 
thoroughly  discussed  for  the  apprehension  of  the 
notorious  outlaws  who  have  wrought  such  injury  to 
Missouri's  reputation.  The  session  lasted  for  nearly 
four  hours,  though  there  was  the  greatest  unanimity 
of  feeling  and  disposition,  and  at  its  conclusion  the 
Governor  expressed  much  gratification  at  the  results. 
The  power  of  the  Executive  is  limited  by  law,  so 
that  he  could  not  offer  a  State  reward  sufficiently 
large  to  accomplish  the  arrest  of  such  notorious  des- 
peradoes as  the  James  boys  and  their  gang  are  known 
to  be,  so  he  conceived  the  excellent  idea  of  calling 
upon  the  interested  railroad  corporations  for  needful 
assistance.  The  result  of  this  conference  was  the 
immediate  issuance  of  a  proclamation  by  Governor 
Crittenden,  in  which  an  aggregate  reward  of  fifty- 
five  thousand  dollars  ($55,000)  was  offered  for  the 
capture  of  the  seven  train  robbers,  or  five  thousand 
dollars  for  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  each  one  of 
the  robber   gang.      This  proclamation  was  supple- 


160  THE  BORDER  BANDITS. 

merited  by  the  offer  of  an  additional  reward  of  five 
thousand  dollars  each  for  the  arrest  of  Jesse  and 
Frank  James,  and  delivery  of  their  bodies  tc  the 
sheriff  of  Daviess  County,  and  a  further  reward  of 
five  thousand  dollars  each  for  their  conviction. 

The  public  which,  generally  speaking,  believe  that 
Jesse  James  was  never  shot  by  Geo.  Shepherd,  credit 
the  assertion  made  by  many  that  both  Frank  and 
Jesse  were  engaged  in  the  Winston  robbery,  but 
whatever  the  impression,  this  belief  is  undoubtedly 
without  foundation.  The  most  intimate  acquaint- 
ances of  Jesse  James,  those  who  have  seen  him 
many  times  during  the  past  year,  are  ready  to  make 
oath  that  he  is  a  paralytic  from  the  effects  of  Geo. 
Shepherd's  shot;  in  fact,  in  a  demented,  helpless 
condition. 

At  one  time  arrangements  were  about  perfected, 
through  the  outlaws'  cousin,  by  which  I  was  to  have 
a  personal  interview  with  Frank  James,  each  of  us  to 
be  accompanied  by  a  friend,  but  owing  to  some  en- 
gagement, which  was  never  explained  to  me,  that 
meeting  never  occurred.  Frank,  after  receiving  a 
copy  of  "  Border  Outlaws,"  expressed  a  desire  to 
make  a  statement,  with  the  understanding  that  I 
would  embody  it  in  all  subsequent  editions  of  the 
book ;  this  I  agreed  to  do,  but  I  am  now  convinced 
that  the  intended  interview  was  not  granted  b  ^cause 
of  the  engagement  which  was  kept  at  Winston. 


